Cherry Tomatoes Confit

Tomatoes Confits are the sweetest, meltiest, most delicious tomato recipe. Garlicky, soft, juicy, and packed with thyme flavour, tomatoes made this way can literally elevate any kind of meal. Perfect as an appetizer, on bread, bruschetta, or on top of a freshly baked rosemary focaccia bread. These confit tomatoes are even great on pasta, or with pan-fried tofu. The key to the dish is ripe cherry tomatoes but more importantly, the extra virgin olive oil. Luscious sweet tomatoes and creamy buttery garlic are slowly cooked to perfection and packed with tons of flavour.

What are Tomatoes Confits?

Confit comes from the French term “to preserve”, and tomatoes are the perfect vegetable to store in your refrigerator after the days of summer are gone. They are cooked low and slow in (quite a lot) of olive oil, which preserves their texture and shape. This process also brings out their beautiful sweetness and infuses them with some amazing garlic and thyme flavour. 

The process of baking them slowly, at a low temperature, will boost their flavour. In fact, those confit tomatoes have an intense, sweet, and yet salty, garlicky flavour, and they are a perfect umami booster on top of many other dishes. While cooking in oil will produce a nice plump and juicy tomato, that’s perfect for spreading onto crusty bread. You can also toss with freshly cooked pasta for a no-fuss sauce.

Prepare your Ingridents before getting started

• Tomatoes: make sure to use fresh, ripe tomatoes for the best flavor. We useda mixture of red and orange cherry tomatoes, but you can use just one colour too.
• Extra virgin olive oil: you’re going to need a lot for this recipe, so don’t cringe. You can use a mild, less expensive cooking olive oil option, but try to use extra virgin olive oil at least to take advantage of the additional health benefits.
• Herbs: We used thyme. However, you can experiment with others, including oregano, chili flakes, rosemary, etc.
• Garlic: it infuses the oil with a wonderful additional flavor.
• Salt & Pepper.

How to make Tomatoes Confit?

Step 1: Add the items to a deep baking tray or casserole dish. We placed the thyme first, then added the tomatoes and cloves. 

Step 2: Add the olive oil. Add enough so that the tomatoes are all covered at least 1/3 of the way. 

Step 3: Slow roast tomatoes in the oven for 2-2.5 hours at 120ºC(fan-assisted). The tomatoes should begin to burst and blister but without entirely losing their plump shape. 

Step 4: Allow the tomato confit to cool enough to room temperature before transferring to jar/s. If the tomatoes aren’t completely covered then top them up with a little more olive oil and then store them in the refrigerator.

Tips for Tomatoes Confits

How to storeTomatoes Confits?
Store the cherry tomato confit in airtight sterilized jars in the refrigerator, making sure the tomatoes are fully covered with olive oil. This way, the preserved tomatoes should last several weeks (2-3 at least). Though, to err on the side (because of the garlic in the mixture) of caution, we aim to use it within two weeks.

What can you do with leftover confit oil?
Don’t worry – there’s no reason to throw it away! There are several ways you can use the leftover tomato confit oil:

• In place of regular cooking oil, to add flavour to dishes.
• Serve with fresh bread and antipasti – as a dipping oil.
• Spooned over dips and sauces.

Just make sure to keep the confit tomatoes stored in the refrigerator at all times due to the risk of botulism or freeze it in ice-cube trays (as mentioned above).

How do you serve Tomatoes Confits?

Since the holidays are around the corner, you could make extra and can them for friends and family. Tomato confit makes an extra special gift. But here are some ideas on how to use it:

• Bruschetta
• Fritatta
• Cheese platter
• Hummus
• Pasta (use grain free to stay Paleo)
• Wrap
• Bowls
• Steak, fish, chicken

These beautiful jewels will be your new favourite flavour bomb from a jar. Their savoury sweetness will brighten up so many dishes. And no judgement, if you end up spooning out a portion and eating them just as they are! Keep in mind to add a little extra olive oil, and you can add it to a separate jar and use it with so many different recipes.

xoxo, Joe

Tomatoes Confit

Ingredients

• 450 gr high-quality cherry tomatoes (1 lb)

• 3 garlic cloves grated

• 7-8 sprigs of fresh thyme

• 4 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil

• sea salt & black pepper for seasoning

Methods

• Add the items to a deep baking tray or casserole dish. We placed the thyme first, then added the tomatoes and cloves.
• Add the olive oil. Add enough so that the tomatoes are all covered at least 1/3 of the way.
• Slow roast tomatoes in the oven for 2-2.5 hours at 120ºC(fan-assisted). The tomatoes should begin to burst and blister but without entirely losing their plump shape. 
• Allow the tomato confit to cool enough to room temperature before transferring to jar/s. If the tomatoes aren’t completely covered then top them up with a little more olive oil and then store them in the refrigerator.