Nutrition
| Per 100 g | Per 1 oz (28 g) | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 288 kcal | 82 kcal |
| Protein | 14.4 g | 4.1 g |
| Fat | 3.2 g | 0.9 g |
| saturated | 0.5 g | 0.1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 43.2 g | 12.3 g |
| sugars | 41.6 g | 11.8 g |
| Fibre | 19.2 g | 5.5 g |
| Sodium | 819 mg | 232 mg |
Estimated from the ingredients, for the finished dried product. Actual values vary with the produce you use and how far you dry it.
Ingredients
- 2.2 kg large firm, ripe tomatoes
- 1 1/2tsp. mixed dried herbs, such as oregano, thyme and basil
- 1/2tsp. sea salt
Instructions
- Choose tomatoes that are firm and fully coloured and pass over anything soft. A soft tomato holds more juice and more seed jelly, and the jelly is the last thing in there to dry.
- Cut the tops off and slice to 6 mm across the fruit rather than down through it. Cross-cut slices keep their round shape as they shrink, while lengthways ones curl into a tube around the core.
- Leave the skins and the seeds where they are. The skin is what holds each slice together while it loses nine-tenths of its weight, and slipping the skins off leaves you with a tray of pulp.
- Lay the slices flat and blot the pooled juice off the cut faces with paper. A slice sitting in its own juice caramelises there and welds itself to the mesh.
- Scatter the mixed herbs and sea salt over them once they are on the trays rather than tossing them in a bowl first. Wet tomato tumbled in dried herb leaves most of the herb behind in the bowl.
- Dehydrate at 63 °C for 9 hours, turning each slice over around the midpoint. The underside sits against mesh in its own moisture and otherwise lags a long way behind the top.
- Take them off while they are still leathery and pliable rather than brittle. These are meant to be brought back in oil or in a sauce, and a slice dried to a crisp has lost the chew that made it worth the run.
- Cool them completely, then leave them a week in a jar with the lid resting on rather than screwed down, turning it over each morning. Tomatoes vary enormously slice to slice, and one damp slice sealed in will take the jar with it.
- Once the glass stays clear, seal it and keep it dark for nine months. Stored under oil instead they have to live in the fridge and be used within a month, because oil keeps air out and moisture in, which is the wrong pairing at room temperature.
