Tomato confit turns modest tomatoes into silky, savory jewels that supercharge pasta, fish, toast, and salads.
Ingredients (makes ~2 jars)
1.2–1.5 kg small tomatoes (cherry/plum), 6–8 garlic cloves smashed, 1–2 tsp sea salt, black pepper, a pinch of sugar, 1 tsp dried thyme or a few rosemary sprigs, peel of ½ lemon (optional), 250–350 ml olive oil—enough to mostly submerge.
Method
- Heat oven to 135 °C.
- Rinse and dry tomatoes; leave whole or halve larger ones.
- Tumble into a baking dish with garlic, salt, pepper, herbs, lemon peel; cover with olive oil until tomatoes are mostly submerged.
- Roast 90–120 minutes until skins wrinkle and some juices mingle with the oil. They should be tender but not collapsed to mush.
- Cool completely. Transfer tomatoes and the flavored oil to clean jars.
Storage & safety
Keep refrigerated, covered in oil, up to 2–3 weeks. Always use a clean spoon and make sure the tomatoes remain submerged. For longer keeping, freeze in small containers; the oil sets like butter and thaws beautifully.
How to use
- Toss with hot pasta plus a splash of the confit oil, parsley, and grated cheese.
- Spoon over grilled fish or chicken.
- Mash onto toast with ricotta, finish with flaky salt.
- Whisk the oil into a fast vinaigrette (1 part confit oil : 1 part lemon juice).
Variations
Add chili flakes for heat; swap thyme for dill to echo Nordic flavors; stir in a spoon of capers at serving time for briny pop.