Slow-cooked and packed with tons of flavor, cherry tomato confit, can add a dash of flavor to any meal whether it’s the main course or an appetizer. I love cherry tomatoes and found that this confit is a great way to preserve cherry tomatoes at the end of the season. It's a simple recipe but packed full of flavor and it takes only minutes to prepare before popping it in the oven.
Why This Recipe Tastes So Good
The key to this delicious dish is sweet ripe cherry tomatoes and delicious extra virgin olive oil. Whole cherry tomatoes are slowly cooked in great-tasting olive oil along with garlic and fresh herbs, to create a dish that has incredible flavor. Confit tomatoes are a great way to enjoy and preserve the taste of summer tomatoes. Serve them with Gougeres or as a topping for Baked Eggs Florentines.
What is Confit
The word confit is a French word and confit cooking is a French method for preserving food by slowly cooking it in a liquid, typically its own fat. For instance, to make duck confit, duck legs are roasted for hours in duck fat. Vegetable confit, such as garlic confit or carrot confit, is cooked in high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
Slow cooking these cherry tomatoes in olive oil are one of the best ways to cook tomatoes and because they last in the refrigerator for 6 weeks they're great for holiday entertaining.
Cherry Tomato Confit Ingredients
Here is what you’ll need for this easy recipe:
- Cherry Tomatoes: Choose tomatoes that are already sweet and all about the same size especially if using different varieties.
- Fresh Herbs: For this recipe, use fresh thyme sprigs because it tastes great with the tomatoes and garlic, but you can also use fresh basil and fresh rosemary.
Tomato season produces a variety of cherry tomatoes. For this recipe, I used a variety called Spark because they're incredibly sweet and have great flavor. Other recommended varieties include Juliet and Black Cherry. Whatever tomato you use make sure that you like the flavor.
How to Make Cherry Tomato Confit
Remove the stems from the cherry tomatoes. Wash them and pat them dry with paper towels or a clean dish towel.
Place the tomatoes in a single layer in a 3-quart or 4-quart baking dish.
Pour the olive oil into the dish to come halfway up the sides of the tomatoes. The amount of oil will vary depending on the size of your baking dish.
Nestle the fresh herbs and garlic into the tomatoes, and season with salt
Cook the tomatoes at a low temperature until tomatoes are tender but not fully burst; they should be soft, but not falling apart.
Allow the confit to cool then enjoy it right away or place it in airtight jars and store it in the refrigerator.
What To Do With Tomato Confit
Tomato confit is best served at room temperature where the olive oil is liquid. As a condiment, it's versatile and complements a range of dishes. Here are some ideas on how to use it.
- As a topping: Serve tomato confit over pasta garnished with plenty of grated parmesan cheese, or spoon it over grilled fish or roasted chicken.
- With cheese: Serve tomato confit with a cheese board as a spread for soft cheeses like ricotta or goat cheese.
- With toasted bread: this is one of my favorite ways to eat these tomatoes. Serve the confit with thick slices of grilled bread, or crispy, thin crostini, schmeared with your favorite cheese or drizzled with balsamic vinegar, or topped with fresh basil.
How to Store Tomato Confit
Tomato confit can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to six weeks. If you’ve made a large batch, consider dividing it into smaller portions.
You can freeze the confit for up to three months in freezer-safe containers. Thaw the confit in the refrigerator for 24 hours before bringing it to room temperature for serving.
Don't let the infused oil go to waste! Use this delicious flavorful oil to sautée vegetables, scramble eggs, or drizzle it over roasted vegetables, meats, and salads.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Use ripe small tomatoes
- Taste the tomatoes and the extra virgin olive oil before making this dish. Only use these ingredients if they taste good.
- If the garlic has a green stem in the center remove it before adding it to the pan. The green stem has a bitter flavor and you don’t want that flavor in the confit.
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Easy Cherry Tomato Confit with Garlic and Thyme
Ingredients
- 2 pints (903 grams) cherry tomatoes red, orange, or yellow
- 1-1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 8 sprigs of thyme
Instructions
Bake the Tomatoes
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Slice each clove of garlic into three (3) pieces. Place the cherry tomatoes in a 3-quart baking dish in a single layer. Place the pieces of garlic and sprigs of thyme in between the tomatoes. Pour the olive oil over the tomatoes, then season the tomatoes with the kosher salt.
- Bake the tomatoes for 30 minutes. Gently stir the tomatoes so the tops of the tomatoes are now on the bottom. Bake the tomatoes for another 40-50 minutes until the tomatoes are shriveled up.
- Remove the tomatoes from the oven and let them cool to room temperature. If using the tomatoes immediately they can be eaten while still warm. If storing in the refrigerator let them cool to room temperature and spoon them into a 2 pint jar.
How to Store the Tomatoes
- Tomato confit can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. If you’ve made a large batch, consider dividing it into smaller portions for easier serving
- Freeze the confit for up to three months in freezer-safe containers. Thaw the confit in the refrigerator for 24 hours before bringing it to room temperature for serving.
Notes
- Use ripe small tomatoes. Ripe tomatoes will be sweet and juicy.
- Taste the tomatoes and the extra virgin olive oil before making this dish. Only use these ingredients if they taste good.
- If the garlic has a green stem in the center remove it before adding it to the pan. The green stem has a bitter flavor and you don’t want that flavor in the confit.
Taurra says
This is absolutely fantastic I have cherry tomatoes and fresh basil from .my garden I will make a confit today. My sister and daughter eats their weight in this. Simply delicious
Liz says
I got a last minute heads up that guests were coming over & happened to have a costco container of cherry tomatoes on hand. Thankfully, I've tried enough Bakes By Brown Sugar recipes to know that this is the place to go for good food ideas. I made this tomato confit & omg, it was a huge hit!!!! Everyone loved this on fresh bread by itself, some loved it with goat cheese, & others loved it with a balsamic drizzle. Even the tomato haters said it was good!! I now keep this on hand more often than not.
Cheryl Norris says
Hi Liz
First of all thank you for the compliment on my recipes. That is so kind and I appreciate it. I'm so glad you and your guests loved this recipe, especially the tomato haters 😁. Thank you for letting me know.