The crostini is just a suggestion, but trust me… it’s insanely good.
Tomato Garlic Confit. Cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes or any other small-ish tomatoes) and whole garlic cloves cook slowly in a rich olive oil bath and transform into a sweet, savoury, buttery dish of irresistible deliciousness.
Honestly, what wouldn’t that be good on?
What exactly is confit, you ask? Read this and hear it from the pros. What I can tell you as a non-pro chef but pro eater and dedicated lover of food is that confit pretty much anything is awesome.
Luckily you can find little tomatoes pretty much anywhere these days and at any time of year so this is a year round recipe, and even if your tomatoes are sub-prime this is the perfect dish to turn them into the best tomatoes you’ve ever tried. Also luckily, this recipe is dead easy to make and if you can just find the patience to wait for the oven to work its magic you will be generously rewarded with a taste explosion that you will not be able to stop eating.
Scroll past the recipe if you’re looking for tips, substitutions, questions, etc. and details on how to make this recipe, but if you want to get straight to it, here’s my recipe-ish…
Tomato Garlic Confit
Ingredients
For the confit:
- 4 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
- 15-20 garlic cloves
- 1 1/2 cups olive oil
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- Pinch Calabrian Chili powder or red pepper flakes
For the Calabrian Chili Honey:
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 1/2 tsp Calabrian Chili powder or paste
For serving:
- Crostini
- Ricotta cheese
Instructions
Make the confit:
- Place the tomatoes, garlic cloves, olive oil, salt, sugar and Calabrian Chili in a deep baking dish.
- Stir to combine.
- Place in the oven at 250 degrees for about 2 hours.*
Make the honey:
- Heat the honey and the Calabrian Chili powder/paste together over low-medium heat until hot.
- Remove from heat and set aside until serving.
Assemble:
- Spread the crostini with a smear of ricotta.
- Top with some of the tomatoes and garlic.
- Drizzle with the hot honey.
Notes
Tomato Garlic Confit Recipe ingredients, tips, substitutions:
Tomatoes – Any small tomatoes will work… grape, cherry, cocktail. I even like to use a variety for interest.
Olive Oil – Extra Virgin Olive Oil gives the best flavour.
Tomato Garlic Confit Recipe Variations:
- Quick Version – if you don’t have time for this low ‘n slow recipe you can make a cheater’s version by decreasing the olive oil by 1/2 cupl increasing the temperature of the oven to 400 and decreasing the cooking time to 30 minutes.
- Zippy Version – when the confit comes out of the oven stir in 1-2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar.
- Herbed Version – add in a few sprigs of thyme and 4-5 chopped basil leaves before placing in the oven.
Tomato Garlic Confit recipe, how to make it…
The oven does the bulk of the work here so the effort on your part is minimal.
Toss together the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil along with some salt and a pinch of sugar. Place the dish in the oven and leave it alone for two hours. While it cooks you can spend your time thinking about ways so use it. Let me tell you my favourite way…
I like to toast some slices of fresh, crusty baguette, smear the slices with rich ricotta cheese, pile some of the tomatoes and garlic on top and drizzle the whole thing with spicy hot Calabrian Chili honey. I could eat a zillion of them.
looking for more delicious tomato recipes? try these…
- Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup
- Orzo Pesto Salad with Quick Popped Tomatoes & Pepperoncini
- Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes
- Minestrone Soup with Fresh Tomatoes
- Marinated Tomatoes
Let me know what you think below and if you like this Tomato Garlic Confit Recipe then I know you’ll love my Blended Cottage Cheese with Chili & Honey. It’s delish.
