Tomatoes

Heirloom Organic Tomatoes

We have reached the time of year when many of us have plenty of tomatoes ripening in the garden or greenhouse and they are also plentiful at the market or in the shops. My favourite way to eat good organic tomatoes or those out of the garden is a simple tomato salad. However, if you have a glut you might want to consider making a tomato confit which is also delicious.

The word confit comes from the French verb confire that means to preserve. A confit tends to be something that is cooked slowly and then preserved in the fat or oil it was cooked in. A tomato confit is made by slowly cooking tomatoes in olive oil, normally with garlic and thyme. It concentrates the flavour of the tomato by reducing the water content and they end up absolutely delicious. By putting them in a preserving jar and covering with olive oil and keeping in the fridge you will have tomato confit available for between a few days and maybe up to a month. You can eat them on their own, in a tart or as part of a salad or other recipe. I like adding them to grilled vegetables (courgettes, aubergines, mushrooms, red peppers etc). You can also eat them on toast like a form of brushetta.

Prepared tomatoes ready for slow roasting

Opinions differ on how to prepare tomatoes to make the confit. In Michelin star establishments they tend to peel the tomatoes and remove the membrane, seeds and jelly, thus just leaving the sweet flesh. Some amateurs leave all of the tomato intact and thus get a less refined result but keep some extra flavour and acidity.

Four different types of tomato confit

Last weekend I decided to see which I preferred the best. I prepared 32 tomatoes in total, eight I peeled and removed the centre, eight I peeled but left the centre intact, eight I did not peel but removed the centre and eight I left completely intact. The tomatoes were medium size and I quartered them. They were laid out on a baking sheet and I then sprinkled over a quarter cup of best quality extra virgin olive oil, 5 garlic cloves and a dozen small sprigs of thyme. They were then slow roasted at 100° C for three hours and then allowed to cool. It is was easy as that.

The next day we had a taste test with five of the family participating to decide which of the four variations we preferred. All were given high marks and were delicious. Top came the Michelin Star style prepared tomatoes with just the flesh. We definitely decided we preferred peeled tomatoes and the ones with the centre were good but different. They also required less work and there was less waste.

Ready for peeling

By the way, it is very easy to peel tomatoes if you use the following technique - cut a small cross in the skin at the bottom of each tomato. Then put these in a bowl and pour bowling water over them. Leave in the water for about 20 to 30 seconds and then remove. The tomatoes are then easy to peel, starting where you cut the cross.

Wine pairing will depend on the food accompaniment to the tomato confit, but you might want to at least consider a nice Italian red wine.