Tomato Confit: The workhorse pantry ingredient. I first learned of the magical flsvor builder reading the French Laundry Cookbok at The Culinary Institute of America. Powerful, refined, slightly sweet morsels add a burst of vibrancy to any salsa or relish – we use tomato confit for our diamond shell clam relish. Have us make you some or follow the recipe below to make your own!

Recipe:

10 Plum Tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic with skin on, slightly crushed
300 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 Sprigs fresh thyme
Heaping tablespoon each of salt and dark muscavado sugar
Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Score the bottoms of tomatoes with an X with a sharp knife and remove the cores. In boiling water, drop the tomatoes in, 3 at a time. Shock in Ice water after 10 seconds. The skin should start to blister and you’ll be able to peel them easily. You must be careful not to cook the flesh of the tomato – The skin shouldn’t come off too easily.

Next dry the tomatoes with a paper towel and cut into four petals each tomato. use your knife to remove the seeds and membranes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 120 C. Dry each tomato petal once again with paper towels and line a cookie or baking sheet with aluminum foil. Season your tomatoes with salt pepper and sugar and pour in the oil. Scatter your garlic and thyme and roast for about 4 hours. The tomatoes should dry and shrivel while evaporating water content. There you have it. Beautiful petals of tomato goodness. Happy eating!