I am a firm believer in the power of a roasted vegetable. Not only can virtually every vegetable be cooked in this way — no recipe required — but roasted vegetables are also universally pleasurable to eat. Have a picky eater in the house? Roasted sun dried tomatoes tantalize your taste buds. Roasted tomatoes on your pizza with feta and spinach is a treat! YUMMMM!
Air Fryer Wins!
I dehydrated my tomatoes in the oven and in the air fryer. The air fryer won out in clolor and in flavour. No oil added. I did add olive oil and garlic with herbs as I jarred my sun dried tomatoes. When I say sun dried it is definitely my artificial sun from the air fryer! Like many other cooking methods, air-frying triggers a chemical reaction — the Maillard effectTrusted Source — that improves the color and flavor of air-fried food.
Oven dried Roma tomatoes, and in “sur la table” air fryer. My air fryer looks like a toaster oven. I want to see inside. The air fryer resulted in brighter and tastier tomatoes. So pleasantly surprised! From this picture I let the tomatoes sit longer in the air fryer. They got smaller and crispier. But, stayed a bright red.
Follow the temperature and times suggested by your dehydrator. It may take up to 8 hours in the dehydrator – to dehydrate the tomatoes to the right consistency.
TIPS For Best Results
Use about 3 lbs of tomatoes (or more) It varies. Follow these instructions to get optimum results
Try sprinkling the tomatoes with other herbs that you may prefer, such as rosemary or thyme.
Be careful not to over-dry the tomatoes. They should still be somewhat pliable and have a chewy texture.
You might also consider adding a tablespoon of lemon juice or white wine vinegar to each jar prior to sealing them. The acid helps to preserve them even further.
To avoid spoilage for longer storage, don’t add garlic.
Sun-dried tomatoes should last a month or more when refrigerated.
I put my sun dried tomatoes on pizzas, sandwiches, burgers and salad. Feta cheese is a must in the salad and pizza. These two flavors really pop together.
INGREDIENTS
▢ 3 tbsp + olive oil
▢ 1 large onion
▢ 2 cloves of garlic
▢ 1 tbsp caraway seeds (heaping)
▢ 2 lb of chicken thighs ( veal or pork shoulder ~ cut into one inch cubes)
▢ 2 large tomatoes cut in 1/2 (before serving fish out the skin)
▢ 1 red bell pepper cut in half (before serving fish out the skin)
▢ 1 table spoon Hungarian sweet paprika
▢ 1 inch tomato paste (Alpino)
OPTIONAL: A splash of wine. (Wine tenderizes the meat)
Salt and pepper ~ to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
▢ 3 table spoons or more olive oil (cover bottom of heavy pot)
▢ 1 large onion diced an saute until golden brown add garlic and caraway seeds. ▢ Stir. 2 pounds chicken thighs 6-8 pieces. Place thighs bone side down and side by side Not on top of each other. (The skin will fall off during the cooking and can be lifted out before serving). ( or add cubed veal/pork shoulder)
▢ Add: tomato, red bell pepper, sweet Hungarian Paprika and tomato paste. Add salt and pepper to taste.
▢ Add: water to cover chicken about 1.5 incles above the chicken ( approx 1 litre)
▢ Cover and simmer until chicken is tender about 45 minutes to 1 hour. If it is too watery, simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes
OPTIONAL: Cooking method for large quantities. Prepare all the ingredients as above on top of the stove. Set oven temperature to 350F. Place it in the oven. I use a large covered croissant pot. Check after 1/2 hour. Cook for another 1/2 hour
SERVE: with mashed potatoes or rice or gnocchi
CLASSIC HUNGARIAN dish with a complex and aromatic (paprika) sauce
Hungarian Paprika
A PERFECT WINTER DISH! It multiplies well for entertaining and is always a winner! Hungarian Veal paprikas is a stew. Do not mix it up with Hungarian goulash ( gulyás ). Which is a soup. You will sometimes see Porkolt written, which is the proper Hungarian word for paprikas. VEAL PAPRIKASH is another great dish you will want to add to your comfort food list. This recipe comes from my glamorous and clever neighbour, whose birthplace is Hungary. This ‘RECIPE’ hails from a ‘no recipe’ blend…. like many talented chefs! The ingredients are exactly the way that mother made it – back home in Hungary! Larger quantities are easy to make, when hosting a dinner party. Always a big hit with friends and family. The flavour satisfies many gourmands. My Hungarian neighbor is quite adamant about all the ingredients and the method. A traditional recipe at home in Hungary. A very popular ‘Heart Healthy’ dish!. . RECIPE (one version) INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons or more olive oil 2 cups diced onions 2 1/2 pounds veal shoulder cut into about one inch or bite sized pieces 2 large tomatoes, cut into quarters 3 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika 3 cloves garlic 2 heaping tablespoons caraway seeds (dissolves in the dish) 1 large or 2 small red peppers, cut into chunks Salt and pepper to taste
OPTIONAL: A splash of wine. (Wine tenderizes the meat)
INSTRUCTIONS 1. In a heavy cast iron pot place onions and olive oil. Add more olive oil if necessary so that the onions are covered. Cook over medium heat until the onions are soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. 2. Add the veal and cook for another 5 minutes. 3. Add the other ingredients; tomatoes, paprika, caraway seeds, garlic, and red pepper. [NOTE: after the tomatoes and peppers are cooked, remove the skin by pinching the fruit ~ to avoid floating skin in your dish. You can also peal the outer skin before cooking. Your choice] Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer for one hour checking occasionally to make sure it is not boiling. If it is too watery, simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. Aromatic, “Health Smart” sauce that is incredibly smooth.
OPTIONAL cooking method : Use an enamelled cast iron pot ( with lid on ) in the oven for large quantities. Mix all the ingredients ln top of the stove. Then place in the oven. Set oven temperature to 350F Check after 1/2 hour. Cook for another 1/2 hour. Ready to plate. Hint: All ovens are different. Adjust accordingly.
Simply Splendid Comfort Food
Serves 8-10. Leftovers are stored in the fridge or freezer or given to friends. A tasty meal to take home for another day! PAPRIKA comes loaded with vitamin A and carotenoids along with vitamin E, iron and lutein. Vitamin A aids in night vision. Carotenoids gives paprika its deep red color plus preventing harmful light rays from damaging the eye tissues. Paprika pairs well with humus (chick peas), carrots, butternut squash and pumpkin soup. Caraway, also known as meridian fennel, or Persian cumin is common in European cooking for breads, cakes and added to pork roast (Germany, Austria and Hungary) and in Moroccan dishes. The flavor is nutty and bittersweet.
FOOD TIP: Use paprika as a salt substitute. You can add paprika to “HOT” roasted potatoes and vegetables, right out of the oven. FUN STORY: I got this idea from a seaside shanty. Hot, curly fries with salt and paprika came out of the kitchen! The “chef” added it for you. (without me asking for paprika) Actually, they were amazing! (If you let the fries cool, even a little bit and add the paprika later ~ it was not the same taste). Oven veggies: add the paprika the last 5 minutes of baking, before you take them out of the oven to heighten the flavour. Do the same with roast chicken, scallops and more. CARAWAY seed comes from the parsley family. Grind it up and add it to your family’s coleslaw or potato salad and falafel (add very little ~ to taste). Caraway spice is a storehouse of minerals, attacking free radicals in you body.
The third and some say, most important influence reached Hungary with the Turkish occupation during the 16th and 17th century: the signature spice of Hungarian cuisine, paprika was brought to the country and changed our dishes forever.
Good Morning, It’s quiet in Toronto this week. The traffic is thinner than usual. There are more seats on the subway. But by golly, there are a ton of tomatoes. Tomatoes are so bountiful at this time of the year as well as beautifully ripe and flavourful. They are at the market. They are growing on the backyard or even balcony vines(such as mine)! We can take advantage of this and make dishes such as soups to enjoy now and freeze to enjoy throughout the winter. This is also a great time to make oven dried tomatoes and freeze the in those tiny mason jars. The flavours are amazing on your salads, sandwiches , pastas and pizzas throughout the winter. So delicious! And the health benefits are off the charts as well.
If you cook tomatoes more lycopene is released by the tomatoes. Lycopene is reported to protect against heart disease, prostate and cervical cancer. In addition, if you ingest tomatoes with oil then the lycopene is made more bio-available. Your body will absorb four times as much of the lycopene. This is another reason to avoid “fat-free” salad dressings. Tomatoes are an excellent source of Vitamins A, C, and K as well as many other nutrients. One cup of tomatoes has only 27 calories. Food chemists at the university of California found that organically grown tomatoes have significantly higher amounts of vitamin C than conventional tomatoes so it is worthwhile to buy them organic or grow your own. This is not true for all vegetables for example organic bell peppers. Tomato paste and ketchup are two of the richest sources of lycopene in our North American diets.
We can enjoy the health benefits of cooked tomatoes by utilizing the following tomato soup recipe. Please see my earlier tips on freezing soup. I experimented and developed this by trial and error over a 10 year period of time. Next week I will post a recipe for broccoli soup and I like to combine this with the tomato soup to give a yin/yang appearance with contrasting colour and flavour. Stay tuned…..
A lovely fresh, sweet tomato and red pepper soup. Red pepper and onion and lots of garlic cloves add immensely to the flavour. Enjoy the fresh taste of tomato soup in the dead of winter with this freezer friendly Garden Fresh Tomato Soup Recipe.
. . . . . . INGREDIENTS
2 pounds ( 1kg) ripe tomatoes
7 oz (200gm) cherry tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
1 red onion
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups water
1 cup red lentils
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
Garnish: pumpkin seeds/purple basil /avocado . . .
DIRECTIONS
1) Pre-heat the oven to 400F (200C)
2) Place the olive oil in a baking dish or a large enameled cast iron soup pot on top of the stove and heat on high.
3) Slice the tomatoes in 1/2 and place cut side down in container to sear the tomatoes.
4) Cut the onions in quarters and place in dish.
5) Quarter and de-seed the red pepper and place in the dish along with the garlic cloves and cherry tomatoes.
6) Sprinkle with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar.
7) Place in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until juices run from the tomatoes.
8) Remove the dish from the oven and transfer to a soup pot if it is not already in one.
9) Add the lentils, stock, water, thyme, basil and simmer for 30 minutes.
10) Blend the soup in a food processor or blender or with a stick blender. My friends and I like a chunky texture to the soup. I puree part of the soup and combine the rest. After I taste the soup I may add a teaspoon of salt. This will vary each time you make this soup. It depends on the flavour of your ingredients that day.
11) Reheat your finished soup in the pot and serve.
You can serve this soup cold on a hot day like a gazpacho in southern Spain. I encourage you to enjoy this versatile freezer friendly soup hot on a cold winter’s day!
FOOD TIP: No need to sieve the soup. It’s a waste. Tomato canneries do not take the seeds out, why should you. Use a drizzle of chilli-infused oil at the roasting stage ( Step #7 above). Add a couple of cayenne chillis from your garden, or if you have them on hand. Before freezing your soup, you need to chill the soup. Never put hot food directly into the freezer. To store your soup, I use freezer friendly mason jars. For good Freezer Tips, please click here. If you are taking this soup out from the freezer, you can use it as a base and add additional vegetables, beans or rice – in a pinch, if you are having a lot of guests that day – more than you expected!
These are so easy to make and freeze to enjoy throughout the year. Great on salads, sandwiched, pasta. pizza. The flavour is concentrated. INGREDIENTS
6 to 8 tomatoes, slices about 1/2 inch thick
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, fresh oregano, fresh basil, whatever you have
1 tablespoon olive oil DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 250 F or 120 C
2. Place sliced tomatoes on a baking sheet on a piece of parchment or silpat sheet.
Sliced fresh tomatoes with salt, pepper, herbs, olive oil
3 Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt pepper and fresh herbs.
4. Bake for one to two hours checking every half hour until pieces have shrunk slightly, edges are shriveled and juices no longer run. They are not completely dried but are still juicy.
Sun (oven) Dried Tomatoes
5. Cool slightly and put into glass jars covered by olive oil. Leave about 1/2 inch of head room and freeze if you will not use them up in the next week or two. Yummy!
Oven-dried tomatoes in glass jar with olive oil and thyme
Simply Splendid Food 