Stovetop Cherry Tomato Confit

Cherry tomato confit is one of my favorite savory treats of summer. It’s the perfect way to use up tomatoes that are just past their prime…a little too squishy for salads but still perfectly delicious and edible. Confit requires some patience, but very little attention, and with a jar of this goodness in your refrigerator you will always be a couple of ingredients away from a delicious meal.

You don’t have to read very much of my blog to figure out that I am a tomato person through-and-through. I have a hard time assembling a dinner without including tomatoes somewhere, even if it’s just tossing a few cherry tomatoes in a salad. And of all the things it’s possible to do with tomatoes, cooking them slowly in olive oil to create this cherry tomato confit is at the top of my list. It lasts up to a month in the refrigerator and can be used in about a million and one different ways!

What is confit?

A confit is a meat or vegetable that is infused with some kind of rich fat. Most foodies are familiar with duck confit, which is a heavenly (but not-so-healthy) dish in which duck meat is cooked in its own rendered fat until it is rich and tender. Tomato confit is made using the same principle, except-obviously-that the fat must come from elsewhere.

As you might guess, the source of fat for tomato confit is usually extra virgin olive oil. Tomatoes and olive oil are magic together in just about any form, but a confit is just a whole ‘nother level of delicious. The tomatoes come out tender and rich, with a fully developed sweet+umami flavor profile.

Ingredients

• Tomatoes: Any small tomatoes will work for this recipe, including cherry, grape, or pear-shaped varieties. Homegrown tomatoes that are slightly past their prime are especially good, and their skins are usually thin enough to be left whole. Hothouse tomatoes work fine too, but they have thicker skins and I generally cut them in half before cooking.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil is a major source of flavor in tomato confit, so it’s a good time to bring out the good stuff. The California Olive Ranch oil pictured above works great and is affordable. When I can, I like to use a Sicilian olive oil such as this one from Bono Val di Mazara.
• Salt: I use kosher salt. If you use table salt, reduce your initial amount by half and adjust your seasoning carefully at the end. 
• Optional ingredients: You can flavor your cherry tomato confit however you’d like! I almost always throw in a couple of cloves of garlic (be sure to discard these after a day or two as confitted garlic can harbor botulism) and a couple of sprigs of herbs. Oregano, basil, and rosemary are classic additions. A pinch of saffron is delicious too!

How to make cherry tomato confit

The basic technique for making tomato confit is simple: just simmer tomatoes very gently in olive oil until they are rich and tender. In the case of tomato confit, this takes about an hour. Thankfully, once you get a confit started, it only requires your attention for a quick stir every 10 minutes or so, making it a cinch to prepare while you are doing something else in the kitchen.

Here are some tips for a perfect cherry tomato confit:

• Use ripe tomatoes. Your cherry, grape, or pear tomatoes can be ripe or slightly past ripe, but any tomatoes that aren’t quite ripe won’t produce the rich tomato-y flavor you are looking for.
• Keep the olive oil at a bare simmer. You want to see bubbles coming up through the oil, but only just. Once you bring the oil up to temperature in the beginning, try to avoid allowing it to simmer vigorously or boil.
• Don’t forget to stir! I set two timers when I’m making tomato confit, especially if I’m distracted by another task in the kitchen. One timer is set for the full cooking time (60 minutes), and another gets set in 10 minute increments. My Amazon Alexa comes in very handy when I need to set multiple timers.

Storage and reheating

Cherry tomato confit can be stored in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to a month. Be sure to remove any whole cloves of garlic after a day or two, as garlic confitted in olive oil can harbor botulism. Include the oil the tomatoes were cooked in for maximum flavor and freshness. Tomato confit can also be frozen in an airtight container (in oil) for up to six months. 

Reheat your tomatoes gently in oil on a stovetop or (covered) in your microwave at half power. 

I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU!

What’s your favorite thing to do with homegrown cherry tomatoes? How did you like this stovetop cherry tomato confit? Drop me a question, a comment, or a rating and let me know...you’ll make my day! And don’t forget to save and share this recipe by pinning it to Pinterest or saving to Yummly, Whisk, or Flipboard.