The prune is nothing more than a dried plum -- and has been rebranded as such in recent years to fight its homely image.
In France, prunes figure into many dishes, from a classic rabbit with prunes to dense prune-laced cakes from Brittany. They are often served with an apéritif, stuffed with cubes of foie gras or wrapped in bacon and stuffed with goat cheese and walnuts, then baked.
France's Pruneau d’Agen — named for the French port where they are shipped to the rest of the world -- are wrinkly, black, shiny, plump, unbeautiful and as addictive as candy. First cultivated centuries ago, they later formed the backbone of the California prune industry.
Italians began sun-drying ripe tomatoes on hot roofs in order to keep tomatoes on the table in winter. But today they are dried out using dehydrators and ovens until they become shrunken and deep red. Drying tomatoes drains them of water but doesn't rob them of any nutrients and only deepens their tomato flavor.
You can buy sundried tomatoes packed in oil or dry-packed in plastic, which can be plumped up by soaking them in water, oil or another liquid before eating them. Sundried tomatoes work well in sauces, sandwiches, pasta dishes or as the base for pesto.
It takes about 20 pounds of fresh tomatoes to make a pound of sundried tomatoes, which may be why they are so expensive. If you want to make them at home, cut tomatoes in half, scoop out any seeds and excess flesh with your fingers, lay them side by side on a baking tray, season them with salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar if you want to help bring out their natural sweetness, and if you'd like, some slivers of fresh garlic and sprigs of fresh thyme. Drizzle them with olive oil and put them in a slow oven where you can leave them until they look the way raisins would look if they were made from tomatoes. You can also go to the trouble of peeling them before you start the process, but you may want to try leaving the skin on, which has a nice chewy texture.
