This vinaigrette is quickly becoming a family favorite. And what's not to love about balsamic vinegar, dried tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil? It's terrific on any regular green salad, but it also is very good on a main dish salad with chicken or shrimp. And feta? Be still my heart.
Another reason I like this dressing is that it is another way to use the tomatoes I dry each summer from the paste tomatoes we harvest from our garden (see this post or this video for all the details about how I dry and store tomatoes). For the vinaigrette, you'll need enough of these tomatoes to equal 2 tablespoons, chopped, plus some of the tomato-flavored oil as well.
And easy? Simply whisk all the ingredients until the oil and vinegar have emulsified.
Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
- 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
- 2 T. finely chopped dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil)
- 1/4 c. olive oil (from the tomatoes)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)
- Combine the vinegar, chopped tomatoes, oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a glass bowl or measuring cup.
- Stir briskly with a whisk to thoroughly combine the oil and vinegar.
Makes about 1/2 cup
[email protected] An Oregon Cottage says
Hey Karen! Thanks for stopping by- I tend to dry them at the "fruit" setting (135 degrees), but will usually start them higher for the first few hours to get them going, 145 to 150. You just have to play around with it- if you've got small ones you don't want them to get crispy too fast...
beingconformed says
Thanks for a delicious sounding recipe! I'm looking forward to reading more. I have a question about dehydrating the tomatoes: What temp do you set your dehydrator on? Mine goes up to 160 degrees. Thanks for your help. (Found your post on Real Food Wednesday) ~ Karen
[email protected] An Oregon Cottage says
Trudy G.- I wash and cut the paste tomatoes in half, scooping out the seeds/juice with my finger. I'm not too thorough in this, just a quick swipe. Then I lay them on the dehydrator drying rack. I go back and forth about how to lay them out- skin side up makes nice round, flat ones but they stick a lot. They don't stick when I start them with the skins down, but they shrivel a lot. Usually I do skins down, though. Run the dehydrator until they are starting to dry- check after a number of hours- they will all need to be turned at this point. Then it's just a matter of checking and removing the ones that are dry enough (as I described) to a jar.
Hope that helps!
Tosha says
I saw on another blog the how to fry part, but was wondering how to store. Thanks for clearing that up for me:)
Henny Penny says
Looks so good. I'm going to have to try storing tomatoes like that. And the vinaigrette. Yum.
Trudy G. says
This recipe sounds really good but I have to say I am more interested in how you actually dry the tomatoes. Could you share that?
mle says
This sounds soooo delish! I'll have to try it out but I'm sure I'll love it : )
Leila says
You got me at "over feta"...
🙂