If you are a Portlander with a patio or any kind of garden to speak of, you most likely have an abundance of cherry tomatoes. Last year the wet cold summer ruined the tomato crop. This year, with two months of warm, dry weather we’ve got tomatoes coming out of our ears. Here’s something to try that you might not have thought of. Preserve your cherry tomatoes by drying them in a low oven. Pack them in olive oil and store them in the fridge practically indefinitely. Use them in soups, sauces, on salads, in scrambled eggs, over pasta, with grilled veggies…
- Cherry tomatoes
- Kosher salt
- Olive oil
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Slice all the tomatoes through the center and lay them out on a rimmed baking sheet- it’s okay if they are touching. Drizzle a little olive oil over them and sprinkle them generously with salt.
Bake for an hour. Reduce the heat to 200 degrees and bake for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours. When the tomatoes are wrinkled and feel dry to the touch they are done. Allow them to cool a bit and then pack them loosely into glass jars. Pour olive oil in to cover them. Seal the jars and store in the fridge.
swellkid 
Carrie…Can this be done with regular size tomatoes, or is the recipe exclusively for cherry tomatoes? Thanks. UR
Yes, you can use any tomatoes. Slice them into thick slices and follow the rest of the recipe. I’m not sure what the drying time will be- possibly 1/2 an hour to 1 hour longer. Let me know how they turn out!
How long will the tomatoes last in the olive oil in the fridge if I don’t eat them all the first week?