Oven Dried Tomatoes

This is my favorite way to eat a tomato. I imagine this is what tomatoes taste like when they're left to sit in the scorching Italian Summer sun - sweet, smokey, and over the top tomato-ey.

This recipe is perfect for August - a time when you have more tomatoes then you know what to do with and friends stopping by, much more often, for Summer suppers. You could sneak these beauties into almost anything - leafy salads, pizzas, sandwiches, pasta, tossed with grains or beans, or beautifully arranged on a platter sprinkled with fresh goat cheese & torn basil.

Oven Dried Tomatoes 
6 garden tomatoes cut into thirds (you want 3 wedges, not 3 slices - the easiest way is to look at the top of the tomato and imagine cutting 3 wedges like a pie chart)
2 tbs raw sugar
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
salt

Pre-heat oven to 300
Mix the sugar, olive oil, and vinegar in a bowl
Place all the tomatoes, skin side down, on a baking sheet
Spoon over the mixture then sprinkle with salt
Bake for 3 hours, until the tomatoes have lost most of their moisture

I imagine you could store these in the fridge, packed in olive oil (a la traditional sun-dried tomatoes)...if you can tear your guests away from nibbling them all up! Can you imagine how delicious a mouthful of August tomato would taste this Fall?