Confit; (from the French word confire, literally “to preserve” is any type of food that is cooked slowly over a long period of time as a method of preservation.
My favourite confit is this tomato and garlic one. It’s made with a few ingredients, slow cooked for 45-60 minutes. It’s fragrant, the tomatoes juicy, garlic buttery and olive oil seasoned to perfection. I pile it on challah, scoop it into the middle of a heap of hummus, throw it into pasta’s, salads and cans of tuna for the perfect sandwich spread.
The recipe is slightly adapted from here. I halved it, used red onions not shallots as they’re impossible to find here (Occasionally I’ll spot them at one of the larger woollies, but red onions are more accessible). I also peel my garlic beforehand as I have no plans to eat them and find it easier to peel before they’re cooked. Lastly, I use the confit directly from the pan I cook it in.
How to make Tomato & Garlic Confit
Ingredients
- 1 punnet baby tomatoes
- 1 small red onion
- 1 head garlic
- 3/4 C olive oil
- handful fresh herbs use what you have/like. I used parsley, thyme and basil
- pinch Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Wash and cut the baby tomatoes in half
- Peel the onion and cut it into quarters. Cut each quarter in half.
- Peel the garlic so you’re left with loose garlic cloves
- Arrange the ingredients in a baking dish. You want a dish that allows your ingredients to be more or less in one layer so they are evenly cooked.
- Pour olive oil on the tomatoes, onion and garlic. You want the olive oil to just cover them.
- Add in the fresh herbs and sprinkle with salt.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes. It’s done when it starts to brown, and you can easily pierce the garlic. You want the ingredients to be super soft.
- Allow to cool before storing in an airtight container or jar the fridge. It can last 3-4 weeks in the fridge.
