Dehydrate Tomatoes for Salads or Snacks

bryguy
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September 23, 20100 found this helpful

Even more versatile is tomato powder. Simply put the dehydrated tomatoes in your recipe into a Ziploc bag and pound into a powder. Make sure the dehydrated tomatoes are VERY dry, almost toasted, so that it'll become powder when crumble it. Or you can do it with a food processor. This powder can be used to season food, i.e. sprinkled over a salad, cooked vegetables, rice, etc. You can even make all natural soup mixes by added spices and other dehydrated vegetables like carrots and peas. The other veggies can be powderized too. If you want to add noodles to the soup, break up instant ramen noodles and add the pieces. I store the instant soup mix in an airtight jar and a Ziploc bag at the office.

One of my favorite recipes is instant spaghetti sauce. Simply take the tomato powder and add your favorite spices, a bit of corn starch (as thickener) and Parmesan cheese, if desired (don't use "wet" cheeses which can spoil). To use, sprinkle over hot wet pasta, and add a teaspoon or two of water if necessary. Then toss to rehydrate the tomato powder, thicken the sauce and melt the cheese. Add olive oil, cooked ground meat and veggies, i.e. mushrooms, if desired.

If you don't care for authenticity but have a craving for spaghetti, cook a bag of instant ramen without the soup mix. Drain while retaining a little of the water, and then mix in a teaspoon or so of the above instant pasta sauce. Instant spaghetti in about 3-4 mins, without cleaning multiple pots