Homemade Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Drying tomatoes the old-fashioned way

Normally, the thought of dried food does not bring to mind a gourmet meal. However, a relatively small amount of sun-dried tomatoes gives a gourmet touch and a burst of flavor to a variety of recipes. Easy to make, store, and use at home, this is an item you may wish to consider a staple in your pantry.

Before modern canning methods were available, Italians dried tomatoes on their tile roofs for use in winter when fresh tomatoes were not an option. Nowadays, sun-dried tomatoes (pomodori secchi in Italian) are not as popular in Italy as they are in America, where they are mostly relegated to antipasto or as a flavor-booster for sauce. These dried, concentrated vessels of flavor have enjoyed a popularity boost in the United States in the past couple of decades, initially as a gourmet item but fast becoming a favorite of home cooks.

Large tomatoes can lose up to 93% during the process. As a result, it takes anywhere from 8 to 14 kilos of fresh tomatoes to make a single kilo of sun dried tomatoes.

After the procedure the tomato fruits will keep their nutritional value. The tomatoes are high in lycopene, antioxidants, and vitamin C and low in sodium, fat, and calories.

Homemade sun-dried tomatoes basic recipe

It is worthwhile to make your own at home, particularly if you have a tomato garden. The basic process is easy enough. Most prefer to begin with Roma tomatoes, as there are less seeds and a higher ratio of flesh, but you can use any type of tomato, including cherry varieties. Choose tomatoes of a uniform size so they dry at the same rate.

Simply slice tomatoes in half, place on a raised screen, lightly sprinkle with salt and optional herbs, and place in the hot sun until dry. Depending on your weather conditions, this could take anywhere from four days to two weeks. You'll want to cover them with cheesecloth, raised so it does not touch the tomatoes, to keep out any critters and provide proper ventilation. You will also need to bring them in during the night, lest the evening dew undo your drying process. Plan on 10 standard tomatoes to get one ounce of dried tomatoes.

Should sun-dried tomatoes be seeded before drying?

To seed or not is really a matter of personal preference. Some methods require scooping out the center flesh and seeds, leaving only the tissue along the outer walls of the fruit, being of the opinion that the seeds contribute some bitterness and acidity.

The juice surrounding the seeds concentrates into just that much more flavor in the end product, and eliminates some labor. The decision to seed or not to seed is yours.

Vegetable Pasta with Lemon Cheese Sauce.

Ingredients

200 gms Ziti or Penne pasta

1 tsp olive oil

¾ cup onion

150 gms button mushrooms

1 stalk broccoli

1 tbsp butter

4 cloves garlic

½ cup vegetable stock

1½ tbsp all-purpose flour

1 cup Milk

½ large lime

¼ cup Cheese (white)

1 cup tomatoes

Salt & pepper

Red pepper flakes

2 sprigs each of fresh basil & thyme

How I cook the Pasta:

1.     Place a large pot of water on the stove over medium heat for the pasta.

2.     When the water has come to a boil add some salt and the pasta.

3.     Time the pasta for a couple of minutes shy of the package directions and keep checking the pasta to see when it is al dente.

4.     When the pasta is cooked, drain it in a colander and set aside.

How I cook the Vegetables:

1.     Heat a heavy bottomed vessel over medium-low heat, add the olive oil and add the onions. Once the onions are tender, add the sliced mushrooms.

2.     When the mushrooms have released their liquid and are browning, add the broccoli and garlic.

3.     Add the thyme sprigs and some salt and pepper.

4.     Pour the stock and reduce heat to medium-low, and the vessel cook with the vessel partially covered for roughly 10 Min or en broccoli is tender.

  

How I make the White Sauce:

1.     In a large saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Wait until it’s nice & bubbly, and then sprinkle the flour over the butter. You might want to take it off the heat at this point, until you can get it all mixed together and scraped off the bottom of the pan. Return it to the heat and cook for a full minute, being careful not to let any area of the bottom of the pot alone for too long, as it will burn

2.     At this point you can start adding your warm milk a little at a time. Add a bit, and then stir until it’s fully combined. Then you can add some more.

3.     Warm milk added a little at a time ensures you don’t get any lumps in the sauce.

4.     Keep adding milk until you reach your preferred thickness, the thicker the sauce the richer your dish will be.

5.     We zest the lemon half into the white sauce, and squeeze the lemon (straining the seeds) in as well. Take off the flame and let it rest. Adjust the salt & pepper also.

Combining the dish:

1.     We pour the lemon sauce into the simmering vegetables.

2.     Add the cooked pasta. Add the chopped tomatoes and tear in the fresh basil.

3.     The pasta is tasted for salt and pepper and re-seasoned.

4.    Serve topped with red pepper flakes and more cheese.

Cheesy Potato Sticks.

The English word potato comes from Spanish patata (the name used in Spain). The Spanish Royal Academy says the Spanish word is a compound of the Taino batata (sweet potato) and the Quechua papa (potato).. Hmm sounds familiar..Batata in Hindi..

Ingredients.

·      5 large potatoes

·      2 cups thick Cream

·      Salt and Pepper

·      2 tsp. Parsley finely chopped

·      2 cups Cheddar cheese, grated

How I make it:

1.     Cut your potatoes into thin French fry type strips, and place the fries evenly in a baking dish.

2.     Pour the cream over the top of the fries.

3.     Salt and pepper them generously.

4.     Sprinkle the 2 cups grated Cheddar Cheese over the top.

5.     Sprinkle Parsley flakes on top of the cheese. 

6.     Cover the baking dish with foil, and poke a fork through the top of the foil, 2 or 3 times to allow a little steam to escape. This way, your cream doesn’t boil over into your oven!

7.     Bake in a preheated oven at 200 deg C for about 1 hour, or until potatoes are tender.

Crunchy Oatmeal Cookies.

·      1/2  cup butter

·      1/2 cup brown sugar

·      2 tbsp honey

·      1 tsp vanilla essence

·      3/4 cup flour (Maida)

·      1/4 tsp baking soda

·      1/4 tsp salt

·      1 cup oats

·      1 cup add-ins (I used 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts)

·      1/4 cup demarara (raw) sugar

How I make it:

1.     Preheat oven to 180 Deg C.

2.     Beat butter, sugar, honey and vanilla until fluffy.

3.     In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt.

4.     Add this to the butter mixture and combine well.

5.     At this point add in the oats, raisins & walnuts.

6.     place tablespoons of dough onto greased cookie sheet.

7.     Dip a flat-bottomed glass in demarara sugar, and flatten cookies, dipping the bottom of the glass in sugar for each one.

8.     Bake for about 18 minutes, until crisp and golden. Keep an eye on the oven if you feel that its beginning to darken too much then please do take it out of the oven immediately.

9.     Usually it takes about 10-15 minutes in the oven. you will start to smell them when they are ready. poke with a toothpick or tip of knife to check. remove from oven while the middle is still a little soft. they will harden as they cool

The colour of your baking pan makes a big difference in how the cookies bake. The darker the cookie sheet, the darker the bottoms of your cookies.

If you only have dark baking sheets, lining them with shiny aluminum foil fixes the burned-bottom problem. A light surface reflects heat, a dark surface absorbs it.

Tuna Cutlets.

My father is a fantastic cook. So were a majority of the men on his side of the family. I guess I have inherited that gene from the “XL” family. That was the name of the hotel my family used to own and run for many a years pre & post independent India in Fort Cochin, Kerala, however after the passing of my grandfather it was all downhill from then. That’s another story.

Growing up in the Middle East, Kuwait to be precise in the late 70’s was so different. The people, the place even the food. We were then a very small community with origins from the north Malabar living in Kuwait and we used to have some fabulous parties at either our house or some one else from within the close-knit group. The fish cutlets that we used to take or serve were always a big hit, despite the preparation being combined effort between Amma & Achan, he used to end  up getting all the credit.

This is my rendition of those cutlets and yes my wife & I still do it the same way I’ve seen it being made in an assembly line.

Ingredients:

·      3 cans White meat Tuna in Brine.

·      1 Medium sized onion finely chopped.

·      2-3 large Potatoes

·      2 Green Chillies.

·      2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

·      1 ½ tbsp Red chilly powder.

·      1 tsp Garam Masala.

·      ½ cup Chopped coriander leaves.

·      ½ cup Chopped Spring onions

·      2 egg whites

·      100 gms Bread crumbs

·      Salt to taste

·      Oil for shallow fry and cooking

How we make it:

1.   Pressure-cook the potatoes until tender. When cool enough to touch, peel and mash potato delicately. (Do not get till the mashed potato consistency).

2.    Heat oil in a large non-stick fry pan; add chopped onions, chopped green chillies, ginger garlic paste and fry for min.

3.    Now add chilly powder and fry for another minute.

4.    Add the canned tuna, garam masala powder, and sauté for 2 min.

5.    Finally add the mashed potatoes, chopped spring onions and coriander leaves, salt and take off the flame. Mix well.

6.   Form an Assembly line with 2 somewhat shallow dishes. Whisk eggs into one dish. Pour Bread Crumbs into another and layout another plate for your finished cutlets.

7.   Make small balls then flatten them into the desired shape, usually disc shaped but it can be oval, round and even cylindrical.

8.   Now dip this in the egg white, and then roll over in the breadcrumbs. Ensuring that every part is evenly coated.

9.   Heat another large fry pan with the rest of the oil. Fry, turning once, until they turn a nice golden brown. Do not deep fry as the cutlet will disintegrate on deep-frying.

10.  Serve with chapatti & a fresh green salad.

You can prepare these in advance and store in the freezer in an air tight container, a slight thaw and the cutlets will be ready to fry at very short notice.

Homemade Tomato Ketchup

"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.   Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" 

Whether you view the tomato as a vegetable or a fruit – either way – they sure taste good and add that extra kick to a lot of popular dishes on a worldwide basis.

The Portuguese brought tomatoes to India. Nobody can say, with any degree of certainty, when tomatoes were introduced into the Indian diet but we do know two things. The first is that the tomatoes that the Portuguese brought to India were not round. They were long and shaped vaguely like baingans. And two, they were sour, much sourer than today’s tomatoes.

 So, influenced perhaps by British attitudes to the tomato, Indian cooks started using it like a fresh spice. We used it primarily as a souring agent and then, as the tomatoes grown all over India became less sour, we used them to add colour and taste to our food. In nearly every dish where tomatoes have been used in early Indian cooking, their prime purpose has been to add a sour taste.

Enough said about the Tomato, I guess by now you should have figured out my sincere love for these humble yet magnificent fruit/vegetable. Here is a simple rendition of the ketchup suited for the Indian kitchen.  

Ingredients:

·      1kg whole ripe tomatoes (blanched, de-skinned, de-seeded & chopped)

·      1 medium onion, chopped

·      2 tablespoons olive oil

·      1 tbsp tomato paste

·      2/3 cup dark brown sugar

·      1/2 cup cider vinegar (if not available use dark cooking vinegar)

·      1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.     Blend tomatoes in a blender until smooth.

2.     In a heavy bottomed vessel, Cook onion in oil over medium heat, stirring, until softened

3.     Add puréed tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar, and salt.

4.     Simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, until very thick (about an hour).

5.     Purée mixture in a blender until smooth.

6.     Chill, covered, for two hours before serving.

Baingan Raita

Smoked Eggplant & Yogurt Dip.

Raita is a curd-based dip. Usually, raita is very simple with either some cumin or some mint and cucumber, etc. But this is a very flavorful raita with smoked eggplant, garlic and ginger.

Green chili paste, and sometimes mustard paste, are also used to enrich flavour. A popular variety of raita of Northern India is boondi raitha—tiny balls of fried gram flour (chickpea flour), which may taste salty or tīkhā (spicy). The mixture is generally served chilled.

Ingredients.

·      1 large eggplant

·      2 garlic cloves

·      1 cm ginger piece

·      1-2 green chili

·      1 small onion

·      1 cup set curd

·      1/2 tsp cumin seeds

·      1-2 tablespoons lime juice

·      Salt to taste

·      1 teaspoon cooking Oil

·      a small bunch of fresh coriander, chopped

How I make it.

1.     First we need to smoke the eggplant, over a gas stove. Wash the eggplant, make a few holes with a fork, smear with the cooking oil and put it straight on a medium flame of your gas stove. Keep turning it frequently until it becomes soft inside, it usually takes around 10 minutes. Let it cool.

2.     Peel the smoked skin of the eggplant and remove the stalks.

3.     In a food processor put the garlic cloves, ginger, onion and eggplant flesh and blend it for a moment until it mixes well or until you get a desired consistency.

4.     Beat the yogurt lightly and fold it into the eggplant flesh. Add fresh lime juice and salt to taste.

5.     In a small pan, dry roast the cumin seeds and once it cools down either grind them in a spice grinder or in a pestle and mortar.

6.     Just before serving, garnish with fresh coriander and powdered roasted cumin.

*Instead of cumin seeds you can garnish it with Chat masala.