I love to cook and I love to eat good food.  Alas, the fact that I work 9-5 means that I can't do either as much as I would like, and like many I am often stuck at my desk during my lunch "hour".  My solution is to try to bring my lunch to work as much as I can.  This is my collection of recipes, all made quickly the night before (either as lunch or as dinner with leftovers that can be taken in).  Happy eating.

Monday 26 October 2009

Tomato confit


Most of the time I think tomatoes are one of nature's most perfect foods. Rarely can anything beat a fresh, ripe tomato (sprinkled with a little salt and pepper). Straight from a garden, with that dusty flavor of sunshine, I could eat them like apples. I think it's a shame to do anything to them. However, there are times when cooking is a necessity, or a luxury. Perhaps when tomato season begins to wane, or maybe at the height of it with a bumper crop, it's time to turn the heat up.


Aside from being an amazingly delicious thing to do to a tomato, this is one of those recipes that you can turn into anything. A foundation recipe, if you will, on which to build a food empire. Confit actually refers to a technique of preserving food, either in salt, sugar, oil, or vinegar (so far as I can tell), but most often "confit" conjures up the taste of tender and rich meat slowly cooked in its own fat (or that of a more generous species).

These tomatoes confit are cooked in a bit of olive oil, not enough to drown them, but just enough so that the oil and tomato juices create a nectar-like emulsion as the liquid concentrates in the oven. A few cloves of garlic thrown into the pan never hurt either.

What to do with all this goodness? Toast some rustic bread and top with the tomatoes; stir in some plump cannellini beans; spoon some onto a delicate white fish. The possibilities are nearly endless.

Tomato confit

Tomatoes (cherry tomatoes or quartered Roma tomatoes)
A few cloves of garlic
Olive oil to coat (about 1/4 C. for an 8" pan)
Sprigs of rosemary or thyme if on hand

Toss tomatoes in olive oil in pan. Add in garlic and herbs if using. Bake at 300 for an hour or so, until tomatoes are collapsed and tender.

13 comments:

Kelly @EvilShenanigans said...

I was at a cooking demo and the chef told us about drying cherry tomatoes for pizza. They were HEAVEN, and I don't care much for tomato as a rule. My hubs would love this dish. Pretty pics!

Palidor said...

You could do all sorts of things with it, including eating it by the spoonful! That looks so delicious.

Astra Libris said...

Oh my, your confit is completely transcendental... I was floating away, reading your incredible description! SO gorgeous!

The Duo Dishes said...

Using this with fish and beans sounds really hearty, yet easy and light. Love that.

Heather said...

wow! that looks so good! i love tomatoes!

Anonymous said...

oh i love this idea- tomatoes and olive oil....you just can't beat it!

lisa is cooking said...

This sounds delightful! Your suggestion to serve with white beans is a great idea.

teresa said...

mmm, i love it, especially with all that garlic!

Teresa Cordero Cordell said...

I love tomatoes. Fresh, cooked, sliced, chopped, in a sauce. The flavor is simply divine. I'm keeping your recipe for the confit in my cookbook. You're right, the uses are endless. :)

Velva said...

Cheers to a perfect food the tomato! The photo of your confit is really quite inviting. Roasting them and then spreading on some crusty rustic bread, absolutely divine.

Very nice blog post!

Christo Gonzales said...

beautiful on all levels - I would sure love some of this right now but more so in January!

The Cooking Photographer said...

Oh yum. So simple, so perfect. And just beautiful.

Unknown said...

Looks great!

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