slow roasted cherry tomato confit

so good, you'll want it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

It's a much needed, cool(ish) rainy Friday here at the farm, coming on the heels of another week of wildly hot and humid North Carolina weather. In addition to keeping up with all the harvesting (I've truly never harvested more tomatoes in my life!), this week we've been focused on tackling the mess of weeds that have taken over certain areas of the farm. 

While I'm usually pretty good about keeping up with weeds (for better or worse, I'm one of the most "Type A" farmers you've ever met..), this summer one of our growing quadrants spiraled totally out of control. The thought of pulling out the endless sea of weeds by hand made me want to hide in a corner and cry, so instead, I had the (brilliant? terrible?) idea to harness the power of tarps to sweep it all under the rug until next year. See below for the before / after of one of the worst spots... here's hoping that when we pull back the tarp next spring, it will be a little less crazy under there! 

Two quick notes about silage tarps...

• We source our tarps from Farmer's Friend.. they are great quality, and come in large sizes that you can cut down to fit your needs.

• DON'T be like me and wait too long to pull out a tarp if you are trying to smother weeds... a lot of these weeds already started going to seed, so even though the tarp will kill the plants and speed up decomposition, for the next few years I'll be dealing with alllll the new weeds that will crop up from these seeds. Whoooopsie. 

Thankfully, the majority of the farm is in good shape, and it’s pretty awesome to be reaping all the fruits of our hot and sweaty labor… peppers! tomatoes! eggplant! cucumbers! beans! okra! hot damn! #peaksummer has arrived, and I am HERE for it.

Keep reading for my go-to recipe for using up the mountain of cherry tomatoes that I accumulate every summer… slow roasted cherry tomato confit! (Trust me, you’re gonna want to eat this stuff for breakfast, lunch, and dinner).

I know you aren’t supposed to have favorite children, but vegetables are kinda like my children, and *I’m sorry* (not sorry), I DO have a favorite… CHERRY TOMATOES. What’s not to love? Cherry tomatoes are (in my opinion) the easiest kind of tomatoes to grow, plus they’re incredibly productive, come in an impressive range of sizes and colors, and they’re ridiculously sweet and juicy and basically little bursts of sunshine.

My favorite way to cook a whole mess of cherry tomatoes = slow roasting them in a warm, luxurious bath of olive oil, fresh herbs, and garlic. This cooking method is called a confit (pronounced con-FEE ), aka a culinary technique where an ingredient is slow cooked in liquid fat. And when I say slow cooked, there's an emphasis on the world slow… this recipe needs a solid 2-3 hours in the oven.

But don’t let the longer cooking time scare you away, because this couldn't be easier to prep – just toss your cherry tomatoes onto a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil, herbs, garlic, and some flaky sea salt + pepper. The end result is a bevy of cherry tomatoes bursting with softly caramelized sweetness – and don’t you DARE toss any of the leftover olive oil, which is now infused with glorious tomato / garlic / herb goodness.

These slow roasted tomatoes (and the accompanying infused olive oil) are fabulous slathered on toasted bread, added to a charcuterie platter or picnic, incorporated in bright summer salads, topped onto warm ricotta cheese or creamy polenta, or served alongside grilled meats, fish, or chicken. The leftover oil would also be delicious when incorporated into a homemade vinaigrette.

See below for the full recipe.

Slow Roasted Cherry Tomato Confit

INGREDIENTS