Plot to Plate No 3: Confit Tomatoes Recipe

Confit tomatoes are just an amazing dish and one I like to make when the tomato’s start ripening rapidly. It can be made with cherry tomatoes or plum. And although they take time to make, they are well worth the effort. 

But this year I have a very successful crop of beefsteak tomatoes. I planted Big Boy and Pink Lady, and pink lady is the one that is producing extremely well at the moment and so I’m going to use some of them for my confit tomatoes. Although they are very big they are very fleshy with few seeds like plum tomatoes, so I’m hoping it will be a success.

The lovely thing about Confit Tomatoes is that it will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week or it can be canned and then kept for up to 6 months. 

The flavours are so intense and mouth watering that they are delicious just simply served with olive oil drizzled toasted thick slices of sourdough or focaccia bread with some freshly torn basil leaves.

The bread is essential to soak up those delicious juices!

Confit tomatoes also go well with my simple homemade Labneh recipe, which is cream cheese that I make from my homemade yogurt ( My yogurt recipe can be found here) or if you don’t have time to make your own yogurt it can be made from store bought plain unsweetened full fat Greek yogurt. I will endeavor to share my cream cheese recipe with you so that you can marry the two together and enjoy it with some crusty bread.

Homemade Labneh is quick, cheap and easy to make, and once you have made your first batch you will become obsessed with it, believe me! 

Ingredients for Confit Tomatoes Recipe

1 kg of Tomatoes, if using cherry tomatoes leave them whole and pierce each one with a cocktail stick.

1 tablespoon of icing sugar

2 garlic cloves finely sliced

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar 

100ml olive oil

A few sprigs of fresh thyme

A small pinch of cumin seeds ( optional) I like to put a few cumin seeds in as it gives this dish another dimension, but it really isn’t essential to the recipe at all.

Method

Pre-heat the oven to110c / 90c fan

If using plum tomatoes, slice them into halves or quarters depending on their size and put them into a roasting tin and add all the other ingredients.

Carefully toss the tomatoes with your hands to ensure they are all coated well, if you have cut the tomatoes turn them so that they are skin side down, this will help them hold together during the cooking.

Put them in the oven for one hour and then take them out and  carefully turn the tomatoes to re-coat them . Return the tomatoes to the oven for another hour and a half. At this stage they will already smell absolutely amazing! 

When the tomatoes are cooked, take them out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin . 

The confit tomatoes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a week. I like to remove the thyme and pop a few basil leaves in to infuse.

Canning

If you prefer to can your Confit Tomatoes you will need to sterilise a  300g  jar ( easy jar sterilising instructions below).

Remove the thyme and then place the tomatoes and juices into the jar leaving space at the top of around 1cm.

Place the lid on the jar and stand in a heavy based pan with a cloth at the bottom ( I use an old tea towel . This stops the glass breaking with the heat.

Pour enough water to cover the jars and then bring to the boil, once boiling reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

Turn off the heat and leave the jars to cool in the water. This is much safer than trying to fish the jars out unless you have a proper tool to do so. But I think it’s easier just to leave them.

As always, label and date the jars and use within 6 months.

Sterilising Canning (Jam) Jars

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees 

Wash the jars and lids in hot soapy water, there is no need to dry the jars as the oven will do this for you.

Place the jars on a clean baking tray and place them in the oven for 10 minutes. If you are using Jars with metal lids do not put these in the oven but soak in boiling water for five minutes.

Simple Cream Cheese Recipe (Labneh)

This can be made overnight but is best left for 24 hours before eating. This recipe is so simple you will not believe it and you can really impress your friends! 

1 cup of Full Fat Greek Yogurt 

1 good teaspoon of flaked sea salt or Himalayan salt.

Mix the two ingredients together and using a double layer of cheesecloth muslin, ( I tend to tuck the cloth in a small bowl or coffee cup to hold the cloth in position ) pour the yogurt mix into the centre and gather the cloth up and tie the top with string so it like a ball shape. Tie the string to the centre of  a wooden spoon handle and place the spoon over a jug so the bundle can hang down and the  liquid from the yogurt drips into the jug below. The spoon keeps the cream cheese central leaving space for the liquid to collect and not touch the muslin  so it can strain well. Put it in the fridge for 24 hours. If you like really thick cream cheese you can leave it straining for up to 48 hours. Unwrap and it’s ready to use and will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a week.

You can discard the liquid but I like to keep it and use it like buttermilk. If you soak chicken in it overnight it tenderizes it beautifully!