Recommendations for Sun-dried tomatoes, please

I made the Cavatappi recipe from Amateur Gourmet blog this week and enjoyed it. Sun-dried tomatoes are an important ingredient in this dish and the ones I used were only so-so. If you have found some you like, please share your favorites with me. Thanks.

Greg

[Jenise]

Greg, which did you buy? Were they preserved in oil or dry? In my area, the most readily available are from Costco, and though I typically don't prefer pre-seasoned stuff vs. that which I can season myself any way I want to, these, with garlic, basil and other green herbs, are quite tasty. I like that even though they're preserved in oil, they are still quite chewy. Some I've tried are overly stewed and soft, and since I came to sun-dried tomatoes from little bags of dried I'd reconstitute myself, I'm pretty wedded to that chewy texture.

I use "Sonoma California Grown Marinated Dried Tomatoes" brand found in my local supermarkets. They are from Summerfield Foods, Inc. in Santa Rosa, CA - 707-579-3938. They are excellent.
Recently, I was in Sacramento and had an appetizer with sun-dried tomatoes. They were also excellent and came from Costco. They are called Valley Sun Sun-dried Tomatoes.

Thanks for your responses. The ones I used, from a local grocery, were Bellino's in oil. They were OK, but were pretty mushy.

I will look for the brands you suggested. I appreciate your help.

Greg

And remember to make your own next summer. They're really easy to do in the oven.

And remember to make your own next summer.

If you have a reliable source of nice tomatoes and a place to store them when finished.

I do oven roasted tomatoes, but leave them moist and freeze them. How do you do the sun dried tomatoes in the oven? How dry do you make them?

Greg

I just halve Romas, scoop out seeds and pulp with my finger, sprinkle with salt, put on a baking sheet, and cook in the oven overnight, at about 200 degrees F.

[Jenise]

I just halve Romas, scoop out seeds and pulp with my finger, sprinkle with salt, put on a baking sheet, and cook in the oven overnight, at about 200 degrees F.

You could lure me into your car with those. "Hey, little girl...."

Oh yeah, with good summer Romas or even better, San Marzano (my tomato purveyor grows those), there's no need to clutter up my place with etchings.

cook in the oven overnight, at about 200 degrees F.

Somehow I feel weird going to sleep with the oven on. Same thing about leaving the house with the oven on.

If I had a gas oven, I might pause, unless I also had a gas detector. But for an electric job like mine, I'm not too worried.

There's always the actual sun-drying option, three or four days under the hot sun in dry breezy air, which weather does coincide nicely with tomato season around here!

We can't leave any cooking on overnight, not simmering stock, nor (electric) oven, because my wife gets woken up by the good smells. Oh well.

As for sun-dried tomatoes, we love the ones from Sunblest Orchards, in Patterson, CA. Rich with almost brothy tomato flavor, still moist. Expensive, but worth it. They do mail order, I think, you might call them at 209-892-2225 (their website is nonexistent).

Walt