Tomato Confit with Rosemary

Tomato Confit is an incredibly delicious condiment, pasta sauce, or appetizer on toast. With a touch of rosemary, tomatoes are slowly roasted to perfection in olive oil, and the result is like gold. Seriously, you won't believe how amazing this is!

This tomato confit was one of the most popular menu items when I owned my catering business.

I usually served it as an appetizer it on small toasts with a light spread of goat cheese. It was also often ordered to use as a pasta sauce.

The addition of garlic and rosemary with its incredible earthy, pine-like flavor, is unbelievable with the sweet tomatoes.

This takes time, but most of it is inactive. Just be patient and trust the process, and you'll likely want to eat it right out of the jar. It's that good.

First, what is tomato confit?

Confit tomatoes are fresh tomatoes that are cooked very slowly at a very low temperature in olive oil. This technique is a way of very, very slowly bringing the natural sugars in the tomatoes to the surface, thereby deepening and intensifying their flavor.

(You can use the same technique for other vegetables. I love potato confit, which is delicious on its own, or can be used to make confit mashed potatoes. Both are so good!)

About the Ingredients

• tomatoes - Though this recipe can be made with any tomato variety, it's important they be relatively small (Roma tomatoes are perfect), and uniform in size. Starting with excellent tomatoes is the best, but this recipe can actually make even off-season tomatoes taste amazing!
• rosemary - You'll know rosemary is good when you rub a few leaves between your fingers, and the aroma is obvious. The softer the leaves, the better. Substitutes: Thyme is my first choice, followed by oregano. You can use dry herbs if you can't get fresh, but use about ⅔ the amount.
• garlic - Look for firm heads of garlic without any soft spots or green shoots, which is an indication of old garlic.
• extra virgin olive oil - Use one you love the flavor of.

How to Make Tomato Confit

- Make the marinade by mixing finely chopped rosemary with minced garlic and olive oil. Set aside.

- To peel the tomatoes, bring a large pot of water to a boil and set up a bowl of ice water. Core the tomatoes and slice an "X" on the bottom of each one -- trying only to cut through the skin and not into the tomato.

- A few at a time, add the tomatoes to the boiling water and leave them only long enough for the skin to begin to pull away from the "X," about 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to add them to the ice water. When they're cool enough to handle, gently peel the skin off.

- Then slice the tomatoes in half horizontally, and then, over a bowl, remove the seeds. Use your finger to gently scoop out the seeds.

* Pro Tip * When you're seeding the tomatoes, you will see a lot of juice in the bowl along with the seeds. Strain this and you'll have a nice amount of tomato juice that's perfect for adding to sauces, cooking rice and even drinking if you want.

- Drizzle half of the oil mixture on a sheet pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place the halved tomatoes on top, round side up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle the remaining marinade on top.

- Place in a 225°F oven for 5 hours. Turn the sheet pan and baste the tomatoes with the marinade about every hour or so.

Recipe Tip: Do not try to speed up the cooking process! Remember that most of the flavor here comes from the slow cooking and low temperature.

Above left: Just before the tomatoes enter the oven. Above right: When the tomatoes are about halfway done.

Above: This is after the full 5 hours in the oven.

- Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper and cool to room temperature.

(More detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.)

Variations

• Try other fresh herbs, or a mix if you like. Thyme and oregano are also lovely with the tomatoes.
• FYI, for a simpler version, you can make these amazing tomatoes without the herbs and garlic.

Serving Suggestions

Once cooked, these tomato confit can be used in so many different ways:

• An hors d'oeuvre or appetizer, on small pieces of crusty bread. (It's extra dreamy with a spread of goat cheese beneath the tomatoes!)
• Roughly chop them for an excellent pasta sauce.
• Tomato confit is a delicious side or topping for meats, poultry and fish.
• A superb pizza topping.
• You can mix it into soups and stews.
• They're so incredible in grilled cheese sandwiches.
• And of course, nothing wrong with simply eating these tomatoes right out of the jar.

Making it Ahead

• You can make this from start to finish up to six days ahead of time.
• Once you've slow roasted the tomatoes and they've cooled to room temperature, they should go in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Warm them in a 375°F oven when you're ready to use them.

More Must-Try Tomato Recipes

Confit tomatoes are delectable jewels and will enhance everything they're added to -- that is, if you don't eat them all on their own first.

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