San Marzano Italian Plum tomatoes are taking over my garden. This bumper crop has inspired me to find creative ways to make them last. After perusing ideas from fellow food lovers and mostly following my gut instinct, the creative juices started to flow. I sorted through the tomatoes and set aside the larger ones for sauce and the smaller ones I designated to dry as in sun dried tomatoes.

This recipe is easy and the rewards great. The small bite size tidbits are perfect as an appetizer, a salad addition, in pasta or sprinkled over grilled chicken. Warning. After you pull them out of the oven and set them on the stove to cool, you and your family will be tempted to pop them in your mouth as you pass by. This is how my first batch evaporated when my niece first tasted them!

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Slice the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Arrange on a parchment lined sheet tray.

Drizzle generously with Basil or Bel Tocco Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and place in the oven for about 2 hours. They will shrink to about half their size. Just to spice things up, after the 2 hours, I sprinkled them with finely chopped garlic, optional, and returned them to the oven for another 1/2 hour. If you add the garlic in the beginning, it will get too brown and a bitter taste will result. Cool and store in a tightly sealed container.

I made these last week to take to a paella party as an appetizer and they were a big hit.