Sun Dried Tomato Sauce Spread

What Are Sun Dried Tomatoes?

Sun dried tomatoes are very ripe and juicy tomatoes that have been dried directly in the sun. This reduces their moisture content, and naturally their size, and drastically alters their flavor, texture, and how they are used.

Drying tomatoes in this way helps concentrate their delicious flavors, creating an intensely sweet and tart flavor punch. Compared to the flavor of their fresh counterpart, it’s much more potent and even aromatic.

The texture of these sun dried tomatoes also changes and becomes chewier, so take this into consideration when you want to use them in recipes. 

Most of the sun dried products you will find have added sulfur dioxide that helps them retain their color better when they dry out, but it doesn't affect the flavor or texture. That is why we love making our very own, so we know there are no additives.

There are two types of sun dried tomatoes available; oil-packed and regular. The only difference is that oil-packed tomatoes are soaked in oil to help preserve them and add flavor, while regular sun dried tomatoes aren't altered in any way; they are simply dried and packaged.

Ingredients

For this flavor-packed sun dried tomato sauce, we are using a few basic ingredients that are very well balanced considering you don’t have to cook any part. 

Our most important ingredient is of course the sun dried tomatoes. For this recipe, it is better to choose unflavoured sun dried tomatoes to achieve the best rich and deep sauce flavors.

The addition of tomato paste adds an even deeper flavor and creamy texture.

To add the acidic element that traditional homemade tomato sauces have, we prefer vinegar and some pomegranate molasses. The vinegar obviously adds the tang, while the pomegranate molasses balances it out.

And finally, no tomato sauce is complete without some thyme or oregano and paprika for color. 

How to Make

This is one of the quickest sun dried tomato recipes you will come across. It is extremely easy to adapt and also very versatile! Make sure to have a jar or two ready in your fridge for your next dinner party!

First, soak the dried tomatoes. Add the dried tomatoes to a bowl with hot water and soak them for 10-15 minutes. This will help add some moisture back into them, making them much softer to work with and easier to cut.

Second, combine the ingredients. Chop the soaked tomatoes into a fine almost paste-like consistency and add them into a large mixing bowl.

Mash or grate the garlic and add it to the tomatoes along with the remaining ingredients. Mix these ingredients well and serve immediately or store them inside a jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Tips

You can use either regular dried tomatoes or oil-packed tomatoes. The dry tomatoes, as with this recipe, need to be soaked to give them a better, saucier texture, however, the oil-packed tomatoes are already softened.

You can also choose flavored sun dried tomatoes to add other interesting profiles to your tomato dipping sauce. There are tons of different ones available so you have a ton of options to experiment with.

Other flavorful ingredients you may want to add include cream cheese or Greek-style yogurt. This type of ingredients creates a milder taste and more creamy and rich texture. Keep in mind that it will shorten your storage time to about 1 week.

If you want to create your own unique flavor profile, try experimenting with different spices and spice mixes.

What to Make With This Sauce

This is an extremely versatile sauce that can be used in hundreds of ways! We highly recommend serving this with some crackers or freshly baked slices of bread to make a delicious sun dried tomato appetizer.

Besides spreading this sauce on bread, you have some more options to use it. You can use it as a spread on pizza dough or use it in pasta recipes. We love pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and combine this sauce with cooked pasta when we have it on hand.

Alternatively, you can also use it to make delicious casseroles, stews or soups!

More Tomato Based Recipes