Recipe: Tomato Confit

Photo by Sean Fraga

During tomato season, confit is one of the best ways to use the season's bounty. Below is a recipe that I use every summer without fail, and is a favorite of our interns.

Tomato Confit

Adapted from "Ma" Viertel

• Plum tomatoes
    • Garlic cloves
    • Sage leaves
    • Thyme sprigs
    • Olive oil
    • Salt

Use as many plum tomatoes as you like, or as you can get your hands on. Exact proportions are not important.

Core tomatoes. Slice the plum tomatoes in half, the long way.

Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer, skin-side down, in a glass baking pan. Salt their faces lightly. Let them sit for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

Add sage leaves, thyme springs, and whole cloves of garlic to the tray. Add enough olive oil to cover the tomatoes.

Bake for 4 to 5 hours, or until much of the water has evaporated, and the tomatoes are plump, yet firm to the touch. (They shouldn't look like a sun dried store tomato.)

Layer these beauties onto sandwiches. Throw them over pasta. Serve them on their own.

You can store these under olive oil in the refrigerator for up to a month.