Preserving British tomatoes series: tomato confit

Confit tomatoes are delicious - spread on toast or focaccia, tossed with pasta, in a salad or used in sauces! The oil can be used for delicious salad dressings or to add depth of flavour while cooking. Making confit tomatoes is also a wonderful way to preserve tasty British Tomatoes to enjoy once the main season is over.

Makes about enough to fill 1 litre of jars - we used 300ml jars.

Prep 10 minutes

Cook 2-2.5 hours

Ingredients

1kg of British tomatoes - cherries are best

200ml olive oil (plus extra)

2 tbsp balsamic or red wine vinegar

3 garlic cloves, bashed

Herbs and spices of your choice - we like thyme (small handful on the stalk) and 2 bay leaves. You can use rosemary, oregano or experiment with what you like!

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 90 degrees C (fan).

If you are using cherry tomatoes, keep them whole. I you are using larger ones you can half or quarter them.

Arrange the tomatoes on a deep baking tray or dish that fits the tomatoes snugly and fit in the flavourings around them. Season with salt and pepper as preferred and pour over the oil and vinegar.

Roast slowly for 2 hours until the tomatoes are lovely and soft but not visibly roasted.

Add to sterilised jars and make sure the top is covered with oil. These will last for 2 weeks in the fridge.

To preserve them up to 6 months, fill jars (that have been boiled for several minutes) within in 1cm of the top and screw on the lids. Place a heat resistant plate on the bottom of a heavy based saucepan and place the jars in. Pour in cold water to cover the jars and bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 45 minutes. Cool in the water, dry off the jars and store in cool, dark cupboard. Refridgerate and use within 2 weeks once opened.