Sneak a taste of summer with sun-dried tomatoes
In these off-season months when you cannot find sun-drenched tomatoes, go with the next best thing — sun-dried tomatoes.
Dehydrated tomatoes, whether they are drypacked or preserved in olive oil, are sweet, tangy and add a burst of flavor in salads, pasta, quick dips and pesto. They make a colorful topping on pizzas, focaccia or crostini and are ideal for an antipasto.
A creamy Parmesan polenta, for instance, is elevated when topped with oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes cooked with garlic, broccoli rabe and broth. Or how about tossing roasted green beans with sun-dried tomatoes that have been whisked with Kalamata olives, lemon juice, fresh oregano and goat cheese.
Fusilli salad sings with an antipasto tone when the cooked corkscrew-shaped pasta is combined with sundried tomatoes, salami, provolone cheese, artichoke hearts and peppadew peppers. Garlicky chicken meatballs studded with chopped sun-dried tomatoes and jalapeno is a delight for the senses for a weeknight dinner.
The shriveled fruits are minimalists because they only have four requirements — good plum tomatoes, a little salt, plenty of sun and plenty more patience.
You can thank the sun for their concentrated tomato flavor. When tomatoes dry under the summer sun, their water content is drawn out, leaving them richer in taste and deeper in hue. And they retain their antioxidants and vitamins.
Dry-packed and oilpacked tomatoes are interchangeable in recipes. To make dry-packed tomatoes less chewy, hydrate them in water or stock first. Oilpacked tomatoes can be used as is, but sometimes the excess oil needs to be patted off.
Garlicky, nutty, sweet and tangy, this sun-dried tomato pesto has everything going for it. Use leftover pesto as a spread on toast or with roasted chicken.
SPAGHETTI WITH SUNDRIED TOMATO AND PISTACHIO PESTO
For the pesto:
3 oz. sun-dried tomatoes
N c. shelled salted pistachios, plus 2 T. chopped nuts for garnish, divided
N c. plus 1 T. olive oil,
divided
2 large cloves garlic,
crushed
K t. kosher salt N t. crushed red peppers For the pasta:
7 oz. dried spaghetti Olive oil
Coarsely ground pepper
For the pesto, bring a small pot of water to a boil and cook the sun-dried tomatoes for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Reserve the cooking water.
Drain the tomatoes. Transfer to a blender. Add 4 tablespoons of the cooking water, N cup of pistachios, N cup of olive oil, garlic, salt and crushed peppers. Puree until smooth. Taste and add more salt if needed. If the pesto is too dry, add a little more of the cooking water.
For the pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti according to the package directions until al dente.
Drain the spaghetti, divide among the plates and drizzle with remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with the pesto, chopped pistachios and a little pepper. Serve warm. Serves 2.
Adapted from “365: A Year of Everyday Cooking and Baking” by Meike Peters (Prestel; October 2019)