Antipasto Jar

Sun-Dried Tomatoes In Extra Virgin Olive Oil

10 /15 Roma/plum tomatoes

Sea salt 1 tsp (this is a must to bring out the flavors)

Extra Virgen Olive oil (To store them and keep them fresh)

Fresh herbs (thyme, oregano, basil)

Red Chili flakes ½ teaspoon or to taste

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees
• Rinse tomatoes. Slice tomatoes in half lengthwise, hollow out, and remove seeds and pulp.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, spread tomatoes out in an even layer, with the cut side up
• Sprinkle with 1 tsp sea salt (not too much) and lay fresh herbs around and on top of the tomatoes.
• Roast for 2.5 to 3.5 hrs until they reach the desired level of dryness. As an alternative to fresh herbs, you can sprinkle on some dried herbs during the last 1/2 hr of dehydrating.  You do not need to flip or rotate, but keep an eye on them at the end so they do not burn.  Remove any tomatoes that are done while the rest finish.

Tomatoes can be rehydrated by soaking in hot water for 20 minutes, strain in a colander, and let tomatoes completely air dry before storing.

Storage:

• Refrigerate sun-dried tomatoes. Place tomatoes with herbs in a small jar then drizzle with olive oil (you will need quite a bit) until the tomatoes are completely submerged. Add roasted garlic. Place a lid on the jar to seal, then refrigerate, use whithin 1 week.
• Freeze sun-dried tomatoes. If you put them in the freezer they will keep up to three months.  Put in the freezer on trays for about 2 hours until completely frozen, then put in freezer Ziploc bags, remove air, seal and lay flat in the freezer.  Good for 3 months!

Roasted Red Peppers and Green Peppers

• Turn your oven on broil
• Cut your peppers in half lengthwise
• Remove seeds and membrane
• Rinse pepper and dry with a paper towel
• Rub peppers with oil
• Place them on a tray under the grill
• Turn every 5 minutes to make sure they are charred all over
• Once they are blackened, put them in an air-tight container or paper bag until they cool to room temperature.  This will also help to loosen the skin.
• Use your fingers or a knife to remove the charred skin

Storage:

Cut up peppers into pieces.  Put in a glass jar with roasted garlic.  Cover with olive oil.  Keeps in the fridge for 1 week

Roasted Garlic

• One or more whole heads of garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat your oven to 400°F (205° C):

Using a sharp knife cut ¼ – ½ inch from the top of the cloves

• Put each head of garlic on a piece of foil wrap
• Drizzle a couple of teaspoons of olive oil over each exposed head, using your fingers to rub the olive oil over all the cut, exposed garlic cloves.
• Close up foil tightly, put on a tray
• Put in preheated oven and roast for 30-40 minutes or until the cloves are lightly browned and feel soft when pressed.

For the Antipasto Bowl:

• 1 cup of the sundried tomatoes with roasted garlic
• 1 cup roasted red and green peppers
• ½ cup feta cubes in oil
• Green and black olives

Mix all together in a serving bowl.  Serve with a basket of Fresh  French baguette for dipping up all the wonderful flavors of the olive oil.  Bon Appetit!

You can also use sun-dried tomatoes in rice, salads, sandwiches, pizza, frittatas, wraps, and more. Get creative and have fun!