I’ve been keeping these confit tomatoes a secret all summer long. Now that autumn is here, I can confirm that they have been one of the most versatile ingredients I’ve ever had in my cupboard/fridge. They’ve made their way in to so many dishes as the star of the show, a well suited side and I’ve been known to grab a few as a suppertime snack.
Much like sundried tomatoes, confit tomatoes pack in a ridiculous amount of flavour. The main differences are; you can make them all year round, you can easily tailor the flavours that they take on, they’re more versatile because they haven’t lost moisture and they take no where near as long to make.
Having a jar in my cupboard still is like a time capsule of summer, in the shape of garlicky, herby, sweet and savoury tomatoes. Every week I look at them, dream of using them up and then decide I’ll leave that little jar of sunshine for the depths of winter.
You could say we struck gold.
How to eat confit tomatoes:
On top of toasted sourdough.
In a salad with the left over oil as dressing.
Served alongside a cheddar and bacon quiche as the best Sunday breakfast ever.
In quick and easy pasta dishes; aglio et olio can only be improved by confit tomatoes.
As a ridiculously good pizza topping.
Baked in to savoury tarts.
Stuffed in to sandwiches with crumbly lancashire cheese.
In the best tomato, basil and mozzarella salad of my life.
You can change this recipe to suit your own tastes but I’m happy to have finally got the sweet, savoury, garlicy, herby balance just right with these. There’s a LOT of flavour in each little tomato but they’re not overshadowed at all, in fact they taste more tomatoey than they did before.
- 500g Tomatoes
- 50ml Olive oil
- 3 Garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Icing sugar - simply because it dissolves easier
- ¼ Tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp chopped Herbs - thyme and rosemary were my choice
- Pre heat the oven to 90 degrees celsius
- Slice the tomatoes in half
- In a large bowl, whisk together everything else then add the tomatoes and stir to coat.
- Transfer the contents of the bowl to a small roasting tin.
- Cook for 3 hours.
To preserve in jars, you'll need to sterilise them first (tips on this in my chilli jam recipe ) pack the tomatoes in tightly, making sure they're covered with the oil from cooking, top up if needed. Ensure there's a 1cm gap before the lid.
They'll need water bath canning for 45 minutes to ensure a seal.
This recipe owes a huge thanks to Matt’s Nan for a continuous supply of these gorgeous golden tomatoes all summer long. Homegrown tomatoes always taste best, but hers taste even better. You can use any tomatoes for this recipe, they don’t have to be homegrown and it doesn’t have to be summer. Just try to pick the tastiest tomatoes you can find and don’t store them in the fridge- tomatoes are constantly developing their aroma and flavour until they turn, low temperatures stop this from happening.
Let me know what you think