A time-honored method for quickly rehydrating and using sun-dried tomato paste by whole foods in your food will be discussed in this article. “Tomatoes with olive oil” is an Italian expression that literally translates to “sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil.”
These tomatoes, which have been rehydrated in oil, are often used in antipasti, or as a snack on crusty bread, in the regions of Puglia and Calabria, which are located in southern Italy.
These adaptable tomatoes are fantastic to have on hand and may enliven many dishes that you include in your weekly menu. They can be used to paninis, salads, bruschetta, pasta dishes, pizza, crostini, or the delicious friselle, which is a firm bread that resembles a bagel half.
Use these tomatoes as a substitute for fresh tomatoes in sandwiches to prevent the bread from becoming soggy; mix them with cream cheese to make a quick and delectable dip; or prepare a pesto sauce to have ready in your refrigerator for those hectic nights when you don’t have a lot of time to make dinner. You can use tomatoes as a topping for grilled chicken, or you can make a sun-dried tomato sauce to go over white fish fillets.
Because the recipe calls for so few ingredients, you’ll want to make sure you have sun-dried tomatoes of a high quality — organic ones are preferable — as well as extra-virgin olive oil of a high quality.
The flavor of the olive oil is infused into the tomatoes, so the higher the quality of the olive oil, the more flavor the tomatoes will have. Some contemporary interpretations of the dish call for the addition of herbs, garlic, capers, or olives; however, the traditional version calls for only tomatoes and olive oil.
You can choose to include your preferred extra components, or you can omit them entirely; either way, the end result will be outstanding. This is not a recipe for canning, but you will need a large glass jar with a lid that can be sealed snugly and has a volume of around 20 ounces.
Ingredients
3 cups of water, broken down
2 to 3 cups white wine vinegar, split
40 halves sun-dried tomatoes
olives, pitted and oil-cured, optionally measured out to 1 tablespoon
1 teaspoon washed and dried capers that have been cured with salt (optional)
1 teaspoon of dried oregano, basil, mint, or marjoram, whatever you prefer; this ingredient is optional.
1 very small amount of red chili pepper, as desired.
between three and four cups of extra-virgin olive oil
How to Go About Making It
Gather the ingredients.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil ingredients
A large pot should have water and white wine vinegar added to it in the proportions of 2 cups each.
In a big saucepan, combine water and vinegar made from white wine.
To the saucepan, please add the sun-dried tomatoes. Make sure that they are completely covered by the liquid in the container. If this is the case, then pour in the remaining cup of water along with the remaining cup of white wine vinegar.
Place the sun-dried tomatoes and the mixture of white wine vinegar and olive oil in the cooking pot.
Bring the liquid to a low boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for around ten minutes.
Sun-dried tomatoes braising in a mixture of vinegar and olive oil
Take the saucepan off the heat and let it sit, covered, for another three to five minutes so that the tomatoes can continue to break down and become more pliable.
Sun-dried tomatoes simmered in a pot with a blend of vinegar and olive oil.
The tomatoes should be drained well.
Remove the tomatoes from the vinegar mixture and set them aside.
After draining the tomatoes, spread them out on a baking sheet that has been lined with many layers of paper towels, and pat them dry with more layers of paper towels until they are totally dry.
Although they need to be rehydrated in order to achieve the desired consistency, it is important to remove as much of the extra water as possible in order to prevent it from going bad prematurely.
To ensure that the tomatoes are thoroughly dry, spread them out on a baking sheet that has been lined with several layers of paper towels, and then pat them dry.
Move the tomatoes to the glass jar, and then, if you are going to use any of the other ingredients, layer the tomatoes and the seasonings in a staggered fashion.
Move the tomatoes to the glass jar, and then top them with various seasonings and other ingredients.
When you are finished building the layers, give the tomatoes a light press to compact the space, and then fill the jar with enough olive oil to thoroughly cover them. Keep the container in the refrigerator until it is time to use it. Always keep the product in the refrigerator.
Jarred Sun-Dried Tomatoes Marinated in Olive Oil and Packed in a Jar
Enjoy!
Storage That Is Risk-Free for Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Due to the fact that these tomatoes are not preserved in any way, there are a few potential health risks that you should be aware of:
The risk of botulism, a condition that can be caused by consuming food that has been contaminated by bacteria, is significantly reduced when dried herbs or already preserved items like capers or olives are added to a dish; however, the risk of botulism is significantly increased when fresh herbs or cloves of garlic are added.
Because tomatoes already have a naturally occurring acidity that makes them much less likely to be harmful when preserved in oil, adding vinegar to rehydrate them in this recipe makes them even more acidic than before.
When keeping olive oil, you can increase its level of protection by including one tablespoon’s worth of fresh lemon juice in the mixture.
If you decide to add fresh herbs or garlic, you should eat the tomatoes within two days of preparing them. Remove from the jar the required quantity of tomatoes, then promptly store the jar back in the refrigerator; the tomatoes will maintain their quality for a good many months.
If you have not already sterilized the jar and canned the tomatoes, you should not store them at room temperature. Instead, you should refrigerate or freeze them. After the wrapper has been broken, the product needs to be stored in the refrigerator.
