Already Missing Summer?

For most of us garden fresh tomatoes are the very definition of summer. One of my favorite ways to squirrel away tomatoes to enjoy in the colder months is tomato confit. Slow roasting the tomatoes at a low temperature really brings out the sweetness and the herbs add a wonderful layer of flavor.

Tomato Confit (adapted from Foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients:

20 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled (you can use any tomatoes you like)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely sliced (more if you like)
Mixed herbs - basil, thyme, and bay leaves
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Sugar

Directions:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and pour about 2 tablespoons olive oil evenly over the pan. Sprinkle the oil with salt and pepper. Strew a little of the garlic, basil, thyme, and bay leaves over the oil.

Cut each tomato lengthwise in half and carefully, with your fingers or a tiny spoon, remove the seeds. Lay the tomato halves cut side down in the pan, wiggling the tomatoes around to make sure the bottom is coated in oil.


Give the tops of the tomatoes a light coat of olive oil. Season the tops of the tomatoes with salt and pepper and a little sugar, and scatter over the rest of the garlic, basil, thyme, and bay leaves. Slide the pan into the oven and bake the tomatoes for 2 1/2 hours, or until they are very tender but still able to hold their shape.

Turn the tomatoes over at half-time and open the oven for just a second every 30 minutes or so to get rid of the moisture that will build up in the oven.

Cool the tomatoes to room temperature on their pan. When the tomatoes are cool, transfer them to a jar, stacking them neatly.





Pour whatever oil remains in the pan over the tomatoes and then, if you plan to keep the tomatoes longer than 1 or 2 days, pour in enough olive oil to cover and refrigerate, you can even can them and store them longer.






The last batch I made with cherry tomatoes (yellow and red), was served with creamy polenta and eggplant caponata. It took me all my restraint not to eat it all right out of the pan!



You can also enjoy it on crostini, add it to your favorite pasta, or just serve it on an antipasto platter!

Until next summer!