Confit tomatoes: a recipe to take advantage of the season

Yes, there are tomatoes all year round. Yes there are varieties like the Raf that are for winter. But the time when you are most likely to buy a half-decent tomato anywhere is summer. This solanaceous plant likes the heat and, in most of Spain, gives its best in August and September.

Today’s recipe is designed to take advantage of that bonanza, and it should be prepared in not small quantities. The confit at low temperature and the subsequent bath in oil turns the tomatoes into something so delicious that they fly. They can be eaten alone, with pasta, in a salad or however you like, they last perfectly for a week in the fridge and you can also make preserves with them or freeze them.

If the 3-hour oven scare you because of the electricity bill, remember that this appliance uses a lot of electricity when it rises to high temperatures, but it won’t leave you in ruins for reaching 90º and staying there, even for a long time (as long as you don’t you open it and close it to look inside like a hysteric, of course). That said, watch the video above, that is totally free.

Ingredients

• 2 kilos of plum tomatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (if not dried)
• 3 level teaspoons of sugar
• 3 level teaspoons of salt
• extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

1. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan and prepare a bowl of ice water.
2. While the water is heating, mix the sugar, salt, thyme, crushed or minced garlic and 3 or 4 tablespoons of oil in a bowl.
3. Remove the stalk from the tomatoes and make a small cross at the base with a knife.
4. Go putting them in batches of four or five in the boiling water for about 10-15, and pass them to the cold water.
5. Once scalded, peel them, cut them in half and remove the seeds (they can be used to spread bread or strain them to drink their liquid).
6. Put the tomatoes upside down on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and flatten them slightly with a spatula so that they are slightly flattened.
7. Spread them with the oil, garlic and thyme dressing with a brush or a spoon.
8. Put in the oven at 90º. Confit for an hour and a half, turn them over and leave for another hour and a half. If they still look very whole, bake for another half hour, remove and let them cool down.
9. Put the tomatoes in jars and cover them completely with oil. Put a spoon or spatula on the sides so that there are no bubbles.

They last a week in the fridge. If you want to make preserves, the maximum hygienic conditions must be maintained throughout the cooking process, cleaning all surfaces well beforehand and using kitchen paper to dry instead of kitchen rags. Once the tomatoes are ready, the process would be as follows:

1. Wash new cans and lids in boiling water for 15 minutes.
2. Fill the jars to the top with the tomato and oil, making sure there are no bubbles.
3. Close them, put them in a pressure cooker and fill it with water that reaches up to about four centimeters below the lid.
4. Close the pot, put it on the heat and leave for about 20 minutes from when steam begins to come out. Turn off the heat and let the pot cool down, between 20 and 60 minutes.
5. Remove the jars, turn them upside down and let them cool completely.

If you make this recipe, share the result on your social networks with the hashtag #RecipesComidista. And if it goes wrong, complain to the Cook Ombudsman by sending an email to [email protected]