sun dried tomatoes

[banqueteer]

I just bought a 5 lb bag of vacuum packed sun dried tomatoes. I need to know how can I extend their shelf life? I'm going to bottle some for a gift with olive oil and pesto. How long should it keep in the frig?
And also whats your favorite way to use them? Thanks.

[cape chef]

If you use pine nuts and parm in your pesto they stand the chance of going rancid. So be sure to sterilize your jars well and make your lucky friends aware that this is for short term storage.

Better to use some fresh basil leaves layered in between the tomatoes,nice color and flavor. Put a bit of sea salt in it as well...but! are your tomatoes salted, or just dried and crayovac?

If there salted be sure to blossom them in some oil first to remove the excess salt.

The dried tomatoes will last over a month in a cool dry place, contrary to popular belief..putting them in the fridge with add moisture to them. Moisture + oyxigen = bateria.

You can make a wonderful sauce with some of them and freeze it, maybe some focaccio with them and olives and rosemary. Stuff some excellent olives with feta and basil and wrap the tomato around it a toothpick them for a fun snack.

Raw shaved artichokes and fennel with evoo and lemon and pepper goes great with the tomatoes as a crostini (with a little fresh parm of course)

I'll try to think of some more easy ideas

[ToYMaN]

I like to use sun dried tomatos and basil incorperated into a good italian bread recipe.Great bread to serve with any pasta with a tomato based sauce.
Speaking of pasta,sundried tomatos work well with a heavy pasta like penne' and a cream based sauce. I've had great luck with this

[Suzanne]

To keep them: Just make sure that you keep the unused tomatoes well-wrapped, dry, and airtight, preferably in the fridge. Each time you use some, rewrap tightly. They can keep for years. We had some at work that were well over a year old, and still fine.

I like to soften them in some good olive oil, chop them, and sprinkle them on pizza to bump up the flavor. In fact, anytime I have to use a less-than-great tomato product, I'll add some SDTs to intensify the flavor. And throw a few into a stew, when I want some tomato flavor, but not a lot of tomato wetness, if you know what I mean.