You don't have to go to Italy or Greece to know that sun dried tomatoes in oil are amazingly tasty. They go well with almost anything and probably this is why there are hundreds of recipes with sun dried tomatoes out there.

But what if you want to make this recipe at home? Well, you can wait for the summer, assuming that you live in a sunny region, or you can cheat your way and use your oven. Sun-dried tomatoes in oven, you might ask? Technically, not sun-dried but dried and just as delicious.

I have been storing my own dried tomatoes in oil for years now. But I have been using my dehydrator for drying them. However, since having a dehydrator is not a very common thing, I decided to try the oven method as well.

The result was just as good and a lot quicker. Therefore, you should hear me out and try this oven-dried tomatoes recipe for yourself.

• Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves. Add the pieces to an oven-proof tray. Sprinkle some salt, sugar, and a tbsp of olive oil on them.

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• Bake them in the preheated oven at 150 degrees Celsius (300 F) for 1.5 hours.

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• Take the tray out and let the tomatoes cool completely.

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• Choose an appropriate jar and make sure it is clean.
• Grate the garlic cloves in there, add a little bit more salt and with a spoon, start stirring to help the garlic release its moisture. Add the thyme and 1/2 cups of olive oil and stir to combine.

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• When the tomatoes have cooled completely, add them to the jar and pour the rest of the oil to cover them. You might not need 2 cups of oil. It really depends on the jar you are using.
• Stir, so the garlicky-thyme mixture finds its way between all tomatoes.

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• Place the lid and take the jar to a dry, cold place such as your pantry or fridge.

The first method for preserving tomatoes was simply heavily salting them. However, it was discovered that keeping them in olive oil makes them tastier and increases their consumption period.

Now, I don't know if this is related or not. Still, I know that in the 19 century, Sicilians started to preserve tuna in olive oil. They did so because people wouldn't buy salted tuna anymore for fear of scurvy. Again, this is just an assumption of mine.

Now, suppose you are wondering how to use sun-dried tomatoes. In that case, you should know that you can literally consume them as they are, make a dried tomatoes pasta, or add them to a delicious sauce.

Finally, I want to answer a very popular question 'what are the dried tomatoes benefits?' They are linked to reducing the risk of cancer or muscular degeneration. However, we know for sure that they are a very good source of Vitamin C.

* You can replace the dry thyme with dry oregano or make a mix of dried herbs.

** I don't know how long you can keep such a jar in your fridge or pantry because, in our house, this recipe doesn't survive long enough to get moldy. I promise to add some dried tomatoes recipes in the shortest time possible.

*** Don't forget to tag us on Instagram when making these dried cherry tomatoes in garlicky oil