Tomato Confit

Here’s a little technique that sounds a whole lot harder than it actually is: Tomato Confit. Not only does it sound extra-fancy (“What, this? It’s a tomato confit…”), but whipping up a batch will make everyone you know think you’re a better cook than you actually are. Bonus: it’s so easy. Tomatoes, garlic, onions, salt, rosemary and olive oil is all you’ll need.

“How easy is it?” You say?

“Can you turn your oven on?” I answer.

What exactly is confit anyway?

Confit is a French term that means “to preserve.” You’ve probably heard of duck confit. That’s a (typically) duck leg that has been encased in duck fat and preserved. It’s delicious. If you ever see it on a menu I insist that you order it.

You may also have heard of fruit confit. This is slightly different as no one douses fruit in fat (well, no one who is coming over to my house for dinner at last). Fruit confits are made my dousing the fruit in sugar. Sugar is a natural preservative so the French use the same word as they are still preserving the food.

Here we’re going to borrow the term a bit loosely when we confit our tomatoes. Instead of packing solid fat around them (or hitting them with a mass of sugar!) we’re simply going to douse them in olive oil and roast them straight away. Same basic concept, different execution.

I still feel like this confit of tomatoes business sounds intimidating

It’s not! I promise you: if you can turn on your oven you can make this dish. My friend Albana, the Uncomplicated Chef introduced me to this little technique and, as her stage name suggests, it is uncomplicated.

Here’s what you’re going to do: Take some tomatoes, onion, rosemary, and thyme and toss them all together with a generous amount of olive oil. Rain down salt and pepper, and dump everything on a baking sheet. Turn the oven to 300°F (150°C). Two hours later you’ll have the most unctuous batch of tomatoes you’ve ever eaten.

As an added bonus you can swap ingredients out a bit. If you’re out of onions but have a shallot sitting on the counter BY ALL MEANS use that. Out of thyme? Just leave it out.* This dish is so forgiving you will soon be making it from memory and adding in your own flavor combinations.

*You do, however, need the rosemary!

OK, I’m in. Now what do I serve this with?

Here are a few tips for serving your tomato confit:

• Put it on bread. Toast your favorite bread and then spoon some of the ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS garlic and tomato and rosemary flavored oil on top of it. Pile the tomato confit over that and you have one heck of an afternoon snack.
• Cheese. I like to pair this with parmesan, although you could switch that up and use any hard cheese you like. The only one I would shy away from is an orange cheddar as it just wouldn’t look all that nice next to the tomatoes.
• Extra rosemary. I can’t lie to you, I often sprinkle some extra rosemary on top of my tomato confit after it comes out of the oven. That green color looks SO GOOD next to all those roast tomatoes, and the fresh flavor really compliments all that slow-roasting you’ve just done.
• Just put it in a bowl and let people go crazy. This one is pretty self explanatory, and it’s how I serve it when we’re having get-togethers with friends. That bowl will be emptied quickly.
• OK now if you’re feeling extra motivated I highly recommend making a loaf of my very own Delicious White Bread to spread your tomato confit on. But honestly, if you’re just enjoying your lazy Saturday afternoon with the smell of roast tomatoes filling the house you can use any hearty bread you like. I will not be offended.

Tag me Instagram @jamandbreadofficial (I love seeing when other people make one of my recipes!) and please consider leaving me a review below if you make my tomato confit. These things really help me out! I sincerely hope you love my recipe, and that you are ON BOARD with making my tomato confit a staple of your weekend routine. 

For even more recipe ideas you can follow me on Pinterest!

Enjoy! 🍅😀👍🏻

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