Confit Tomatoes While You Still Can
Earth's candy in a jar
In a dream world, I do not own a cell phone and am living in my proverbial ‘House By The Sea’. A place decorated without a budget, has absolutely no WiFi and a garden overflowing with cherry tomatoes year round, or at least enough that I get to confit them in large batches to enjoy all winter long. While I still have an iPhone, this recipe for confit tomatoes is a mini escape to paradise, even during the coldest of times.
In the real world, California is still spoiling us with all the nightshades! And for my East-Coasters, I also spotted some beautiful cherry tomatoes while at the market in NY this past weekend. I’m not entirely sure what ‘Tomato Girl Summer’ means, but it seems she’s expanded into fall. Lucky us.
My cooking has two speeds - On (At the stove all day, apron on, making a 5 course meal for 12) and Off (A total of 3 minutes of throwing together a few of my favorite ingredients, only to be eaten in a single bite while standing up in my kitchen after a long day of work.) My life hack for always feeling not just fed but nourished, is making an assortment of delicious things to have on hand year-round that make for an easy, 2 minute meal. One of those magic ingredients is confit tomatoes - sitting next to many pickled things and lemons cured in salt.
Slow cooked in olive oil with garlic and herbs, the tomatoes caramelize and become extra juicy. They will spice up a simple lentil salad (lunchbox!), complement my homemade Rugbrod (recipe incoming!), or can be snuck inside a sandwich for extra pizazz.
Enjoy!
Melanie
Equipment
Canning Jars
Ingredients
Enough cherry tomatoes to cover a sheet tray (or five)
1 head of garlic
thyme or rosemary
olive oil
salt and pepper
Lay your tomatoes on a sheet tray and set to 275 degrees or “low” for 2ish hours or until the tomatoes are blistered but still juicy. I like to go very low and slow for maximum caramelization. If they look like raisins you waited too long.
Take the sheet tray out of the oven and bring to room temperature. Meanwhile, sterilize your jars by boiling them on the stove. Store in the jar whatever you can resist eating straight out of the sheet pan, making sure to submerge the tomatoes entirely in the oil if you plan on keeping them for a few months (impossible, I swear). They will keep in the fridge for a few months.
Enjoy!