Tomato and Garlic Confit

I saw this on a YT video.  So dangerous to let me watch YouTube hungry.  It's probably a good thing I don't use TikTok.  I quickly realized what a great condiment it is for a whole lot of dishes and went looking for a proper recipe.

Google quickly scared me a bit with some of the questions related to my search.  I do know from my food safety lessons that you should not leave garlic-in-oil mixtures at room temperature for extended periods.  Garlic naturally harbors botulism spores, which is only a problem when you keep them in an anaerobic environment such as oil.  Cooked and refrigerated for two weeks or less, it's perfectly safe.  Yes, the oil will harden in the fridge, but it doesn't take much to re-liquify it for serving.  This isn't much different from the finishing stage of my oven-dried tomatoes, just adding garlic.

Scary stuff out of the way, this is pretty awesome.  Slow roasted tomatoes and garlic are great on their own, and when they are cooked in oil, that gets flavored too.  This can go with veggies, meat, on bread, in pasta, on a salad, in rice, in eggs...you get the idea.  The oil can also be used as a dipping sauce.  I mixed some of it with balsamic vinegar to make a salad dressing for Seder, then later made a savory matzoh brei for dinner with artichokes, confit, and cheese.

1 dry pint grape or cherry tomatoes
*1 large or 2 small heads garlic
*Fresh basil as desired, about 1 Tb (or another herb that fits the use, like oregano or thyme)
1 tsp kosher salt
Olive oil as needed, about 1 cup

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.  Rinse tomatoes and arrange in a single layer in an 8x8 baking dish.

2.  To prepare the garlic, you have two choices.  One is to cut off the top and nestle the entire head into the dish, then squeeze out the roasted cloves after baking.  My garlic was sprouting and some of the cloves had rotted a bit, so I did it the hard way and peeled all of them.  Your choice.

3.  Sprinkle the top with salt and basil leaves.  Pour oil into the pan until it comes up most of the way on the tomatoes.

4.  Place the pan in the oven and roast for 60-90 minutes, until the tomatoes are thoroughly cooked.  You're essentially oven deep-frying them in the oil.  The amount of time will depend upon how ripe your tomatoes are.

5.  Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.  Place in a non-reactive container, preferably glass.  A plastic container might absorb all the flavors and be difficult to clean.  Refrigerate and use within two weeks, or freeze for up to two months.

Makes about 1-1/2 C

Difficulty rating  π