sun dried tomatoes

Yes as per Monty Don in a baking tray cut in half scatter chopped garlic, sprigs of thyme, splash olive oil over and bake in oven for about 40 mins, they will lose their water and the flavour will intensify. We do this every year and freeze in small portions to use in the winter. Monty adds salt but OH has high blood pressure so we omit that. You really can taste the difference. We freeze chillies too.

I also make tomato sauce when tomatoes are plentiful. Fill a baking tray with tomatoes cut in half (cut side up or they stick) , sprinkle two chopped onions over and two chopped garlic cloves, season and splosh olive oil over. about an hour ina medium over, or put it in the oven while something else is cooking.

Then scrape the contents of the baking tray into a blender, including stuck-on bits, wash out the tray with a little wine or water and add that as well and blend. I freeze it in amounts for one lot of pasta, or amounts that will go into other dishes.

It makes a very good tomato and beetroot winter soup with a plastic pack of cooked beetroot from the store cupboard (garnished with crumbled feta cheese).

to oven dry I put them on the top of the AGa lids for 48 hours - then vacupac then freeze. I also roast them in olive oil and different herbs or none at all and freeze. If you vacupak you can also freeze them raw. Mine last pretty much all winter.