Oven-dried tomatoes

Before...

For all my bragging about speedy meals, I really love laboring over something that takes hours.  Taking the time to make a good risotto is one of the most therapeutic things ever.  Tonight, I decided to take my first stab at oven-dried tomatoes.  I snagged a bunch of plum tomatoes at the market this weekend for a good price.  You may recall that my friend the Tomato King passed along a jar of these last year and I loved them.  His approach involves roasting all night.  I've struggled with keeping the temperature in my oven low enough to pull that off, but not quite three hours in and I've made some progress.  Once again the house smells awesome and I have something I can check on and fiddle with for hours.

About two hours in

I quartered the tomatoes and cleaned out the seeds and guts.  Then I stuck them in a strainer over a bowl and gave them a good sprinkle of kosher salt and let them sit for a bit to draw some more moisture out.  Then I tossed them with a count or two of olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, finely chopped garlic and a bit of oregano.  I think I have a little way to go but they're starting to taste great.  I doubt I'll preserve them, they will either end up on a pizza or in a pasta later this week.