This Tomato Garlic Confit recipe marries the sweetness of ripe cherry tomatoes with the depth of slow-cooked garlic. With just a handful of ingredients and patience, you'll have a jar of this liquid gold ready to elevate your dishes to new heights.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy Appetizer: Despite its gourmet reputation, Tomato Garlic Confit is remarkably easy to make. You just need a few good quality ingredients, then you can set it and forget it.
Keeps Well: Garlic tomato confit will keep well in your refrigerator. You can make a large batch and use it for the next couple of weeks.
Elevates Almost Any Dish: When you confit tomatoes and garlic, the result is a sweet and flavorful combination that can be used to top fish, and meats or added to pasta.
Tomato And Garlic Confit
Cherry Tomato confit is the perfect recipe to make during tomato season. I started making this easy recipe when I planted a few too many cherry tomato plants and ended up with an abundance of summer tomatoes. It was the perfect way to use up all of my tomatoes.
This garlic and tomato confit is easy to make, tasty, and versatile. From being the star of a rustic bruschetta to a luscious sauce for pasta, or even a topping for grilled meats, this confit knows no bounds.
What Is Confit?
While confit sounds super fancy and difficult, you need not stress - this is a very simple recipe. Confit is a French cooking technique that involves slow-cooking food (at a very low temperature), typically meat or vegetables, in fat. The purpose of this method is to enhance the flavor and tenderness of food and confit cooking is also used as a preservation method. Confit recipes are most commonly associated with meats but this cooking method can also be used for fruits and vegetables.
Ingredients For Tomato Garlic Confit
- Cherry Tomatoes: You can certainly confit any type of tomato, but cherry tomatoes are my favorite. They are super sweet and flavorful.
- Garlic: You will need to use fresh garlic cloves in this recipe. You can also adjust the amount, use a full head of garlic, or only a few whole garlic cloves. It’s up to you!
- Thyme: I really love using fresh thyme in this garlic confit recipe, but you can try adding other fresh herbs like fresh rosemary, oregano, or sage. Fresh basil would also be wonderful.
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: You will want to use good quality organic extra virgin olive oil. This does not need to be a top-shelf, drizzling olive oil, but a good quality oil that you use for cooking. The amount of oil needed will depend on the of size baking pan that you use.
- Flakey Sea Salt: Tomatoes love salt, so you will want to add a good amount of flakey sea salt to flavor the tomato confit.
Step-By-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 225 degrees.
- To your small baking dish add the whole cherry tomatoes and peeled garlic cloves in a single layer. Pour the extra virgin olive oil over the tomatoes and garlic until submerged. It’s okay if a few tomatoes are not completely covered, as they will shrink down when they cook.
- Add the sea salt, and gently toss to combine. If needed, add a little bit more olive oil.
- Next, add the fresh thyme sprigs and place the baking dish in the oven.
- Cook for 2-2.5 hours or until the tomatoes are soft, and slightly wrinkly, but still maintain a plump shape.
- Serve as an appetizer or over grilled meats, fish, or toast.
Tips And Tricks
- Patience Is Key: The key to making a great garlic tomato confit, is patience! You cannot rush the process. The tomato confit needs to be cooked at a low temperature for a long period of time. It is tempting to increase the oven to high temperatures to speed up the process, but remember, all good things take time!
- Use Good Olive Oil: Be sure to use good quality organic extra virgin olive oil. No need to use anything super fancy, but something that you cook with regularly will be perfect. Also, be sure to our enough olive oil to cover the tomatoes.
- Use Good Quality Tomatoes: Ingredients are key, especially when there are only a handful in this recipe. Look for organic cherry tomatoes, if you don’t grow your own, or can’t get to a farmer’s market, you can usually find fresh tomatoes at your local grocery store.
Variations
- Mix Up The Herbs: This garlic and tomato confit recipe calls for thyme, but you can change up the herbs and use whatever you enjoy. Rosemary, sage, and oregano would be good options.
- Garlic: Play around with the amount of garlic you use. If you enjoy garlic go ahead and use an entire head. If you are not a fan you can totally leave it out.
- Bring The Heat: You can spice up this cherry tomato confit recipe by adding some red pepper flakes, and black pepper.
How To Use Tomato Garlic Confit?
- Labneh Toast: Try adding tomato garlic confit on sourdough bread topped with labneh. It is truly delicious.
- Avocado Toast: Level up your basic avocado toast by adding these delicious slow cooked tomatoes.
- Whipped Feta: The more feta the more bettah! Ha! Try making whipped feta and topping it with this tomato confit. You can serve it with crostini, crackers, or crusty bread.
- Whipped Cottage Cheese Toast: Cottage cheese toast is so delicious, and when you confit tomatoes and garlic, it makes the perfect topping for your cottage cheese toast.
- Pasta: You can also use this tomato confit to make a pasta sauce.
- Grilled Meats: Top your favorite grilled meats or fish with this delicious topping.
- Snack Board: Add tomato garlic confit to your next snack board. It’s perfect for dipping, or slathering onto crackers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Difference Between Tomato Confit And Sundried Tomatoes?
Tomato Confit is made by cooking the tomatoes low and slow in oil. On the other hand, sun-dried tomatoes are dried, resulting in a chewy and intensely flavored product. Both have their unique uses in cooking, adding distinct tomato profiles to different dishes.
Can You Freeze Tomato Confit?
You can certainly freeze tomato confit. Store it in a freezer-safe container and it will keep for up to 3 months in your freezer.
What Is Tomato Garlic Confit Used For?
Tomato garlic confit is a versatile condiment that can be used in a variety of dishes to add a burst of flavor and a touch of richness. You can use it for a pasta sauce, a dip, or a spread, you can use it to top grilled meats, burgers, or even pizza. The options are endless!
How To Serve
Allow the tomato garlic confit to cool slightly and serve it over meats, fish, pasta, or toast.
How To Store
Allow the tomato confit to come to room temperature then store any leftovers in an airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks.
More Tomato Recipes
Whipped Feta With Blistered Tomatoes
Burst Cherry Tomato Pasta With Steak
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Cherry Tomato Garlic Confit
Ingredients
- 1 pint Cherry Tomatoes
- 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil adjust as needed
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt adjust to taste
- 3 sprigs Thyme fresh
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 225 degrees.
- To you small baking dish add the whole cherry tomatoes and peeled garlic cloves in a single layer. Pour the extra virgin olive oil over the tomatoes and garlic until submerged. It’s okay if a few tomatoes are not completely covered, as they will shrink down when they cook.
- Add the sea salt, and gently toss to combine. If needed, add a little bit more olive oil.
- Next, add the fresh thyme sprigs and place the baking dish in the oven.
- Cook for 2-2.5 hours or until the tomatoes are soft, slightly wrinkly, but still maintain a plump shape.
- Serve as an appetizer or over grilled meats, fish, or toast.
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