Tomato Confit

Although tomato season is winding down, I would like to share the tomato preparation I most enjoyed this season. I got the idea from another of my favorite blogs, Buffalo Buffet. Confit is a French term for food that has been preserved, usually in its own fat. We are probably most familiar with traditional confit, such as duck or goose. Tomato "confit" may be a bit of a stretch since the fat used is olive oil but semantics aside, it's a delicious way to preserve tomatoes, making a rich, condensed, almost jam-like tomato spread.

Tomato Confit

5 lbs tomatoes
1/2 c. olive oil
8 cloves garlic, whole
fresh basil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. While you're waiting, wash the tomatoes and give the skins a nick of the knife, so the skins can be removed easily. Once the water has come to a boil, put half the tomatoes in the water for about a minutes. Remove and immediately plunge into an ice bath. Drain and peel off the skin. Repeat with the second half. (I did all the tomatoes the first time around and some of them got mushy by the time I was ready to remove the skins.)
Combine the tomatoes, oil, garlic and herbs in a shallow baking dish and bake for about 45 minutes. Stir frequently.

Notes: Cherry tomatoes look beautiful in this recipe but its a rather finicky process to remove the skins. I've done this with both cherry tomatoes and Roma tomatoes and yielded marvelous results. N. and I ate this for breakfast, spread on toast with scrambled eggs and crisped capicolla. I also tossed it with some pasta, fresh ricotta and pesto. I've seen other recipes like this that do not call for removing the skins, making this an easier process. You could skip that step but I think it's worth it.