Well, I’m a terrible plant mommy. This weather is so fickle and I’m prone to ignore all things that can’t grow heartily on their own, so I lost the battle for baby tomatoes. I harvested the last of them today, with a bit of sadness and sense of futility.
However, all is not lost, as I get to show you the nifty thing I do all the time with extra tomatoes that are just on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
I roast them in my toaster oven with some high heat oil, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs (whatever is still alive is my low, low bar for what kind of herbs qualify), and add some balsamic vinegar at the end to flavor them up just a tad more. When they are cool, they go into a jar, get topped off with some extra virgin olive oil and locked in with a screwtop lid. I keep these in the fridge for about a week. They’re great on bruschetta, stirred into some reheated rice, or added to a bunch of other roasted/grilled/steamed veggies.
- 1 pint tomatoes, rinsed
- 2 teaspoons high heat oil
- 5-6 sprigs of fresh herbs
- salt and pepper, to taste
- about 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, or more if you like
- Enough extra virgin olive oil to cover confit
Preheat toaster or regular oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and scatter tomatoes on it. Drizzle oil onto the tomatoes and lay fresh herb sprigs over them. Roast for 25-35 minutes, or until they are dark brown and blistering. Remove the baking sheet to a cooling rack. Either discard or crumble the leaves of the baked herbs onto the tomatoes. Drizzle with balsamic. When cool, transfer them to an airtight container, cover with extra virgin olive oil, and refrigerate for up to a week. Makes about 1-1/2 cups.