This cherry tomato garlic confit with marinated feta is bursting with deliciousness, and has all the fruity, tangy and summery flavors you're craving for.
The no-fail combination of tomatoes, garlic and olive oil come together beautifully in this recipe that will keep you coming back for more.
It has to be the best way to preserve those delicious summer tomatoes.
When it's tomato season and you have lots of fresh tomatoes that you want to put to use, this easy recipe is worth turning to.
The slow roasted cherry tomatoes in olive oil, teamed up with the roasted garlic brings a beautiful sweet and earthy flavor and a super soft concoction, which is then balanced out with the creaminess of the feta.
I had lots of cherry tomatoes at hand, so I used them to make this recipe (and some Italian style pan fried tomatoes too).
Jump to:
- What's So Great About the Recipe?
- Ingredients For the Tomato Garlic Confit Recipe
- How to Make the Tomato Garlic Confit
- Substitutions
- Variations
- 💭Top Tip
- Equipment
- How to Store the Leftover Tomato Garlic Confit
- Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- How to Serve the Tomato Garlic Confit
- FAQs
- Related Recipes
- Tomato Garlic Confit with Marinated Feta
- Food Safety
What's So Great About the Recipe?
With bold Italian flavors, this tomato garlic confit recipe is a great make-ahead appetizer or condiment.
You can batch make it and store it for whenever you want to enjoy a quick snack or serve a fancy looking appetizer without spending too much kitchen time.
I also love how my kitchen smells after I've made this- those heavenly Italian flavors from the roast tomatoes, the herbs and garlic are to die for!
Ingredients For the Tomato Garlic Confit Recipe
Cherry tomatoes: I've used fresh, juicy and ripe cherry tomatoes for this recipe. You can also use heirloom tomatoes if you can get your hands on them.
Olive oil: Olive oil, particularly extra virgin olive oil, lends this dish the perfect Italian flavor. If you don't have it, you can use any regular, neutral flavored cooking oil too.
Feta cheese: Feta cheese brings a nice salty and creamy flavor to the garlic tomato garlic confit.
Lemon: Lemon brings some tanginess and bright flavor to the confit.
Garlic cloves: Whole garlic cloves are an absolute must. Use as much as your heart tells you to! I used a head of garlic for some extra flavor.
Rosemary: Rosemary helps bring some sweetness to the confit. You can use dried or fresh based on what you have at hand.
Basil: Fresh basil leaves really elevate the flavors of this confit and take them to the next level. This one's another absolute must.
Seasonings: I used salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to the confit. You can add whatever you want to.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make the Tomato Garlic Confit
Ready to make cherry tomato confit? Here’s the step by step process you’ll need to follow.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a baking dish or an oven-safe glass container, place the cherry tomatoes with the garlic and herbs in a single layer.
Pop the dish in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are tender and the garlic is soft.
The cooking time will depend on the size of your baking dish. Take this out of the oven, allow it to cool down completely.
Now transfer the contents into a clean glass jar, add the feta cheese and cover everything with the remaining olive oil- everything should be fully submerged in olive oil.
Refrigerate for up to a week and enjoy on your morning toast.
Hint: You can also use any colorful cherry tomatoes you can get your hands on, even the ones that seem slightly soft and overripe.
Substitutions
- Don't have sea salt? You can use flaky salt, pink Himalayan salt or even just regular salt- whatever works.
- Can't seem to find cherry tomatoes? You can actually replicate the same recipe with almost any other kind of tomato too. Just make sure you chop up the larger tomatoes into smaller chunks and then follow the rest of the recipe as is.
- If you want to use cherry tomatoes, but can’t seem to be able to find fresh ones, you can also use frozen cherry tomatoes for this recipe.
Variations
- You can add pretty much any fresh herbs you can get your hands on. I like to stick to the classics- rosemary, thyme, basil and oregano for this recipe, because they lend the dish the delicious Italian flavor and aroma it is supposed to have.
- For some extra flavor, drizzle a bit of balsamic vinegar after the confit is out of the oven and cooled down.
- The flavors of garlic and tomatoes work together wonderfully, which is why I made this tomato confit with garlic. You can also try to make simple confit tomatoes, minus the garlic if you want to.
💭Top Tip
If you're not too keen on adding the feta cheese cubes in the same jar as the confit, you can skip adding them, and just whip up some of it and spread it on your bread slice when you want to serve, and then follow it up with the confit.
Equipment
How to Store the Leftover Tomato Garlic Confit
If you have some leftovers or you're making this in a big batch, you can transfer everything to a food safe container, an airtight container or a glass jar and place the jar in the fridge.
Remember that the olive oil will solidify in the refrigerator, so you might want to get the jar out an hour or two and get it to room temperature before you plan to use the confit.
You can also choose to freeze tomato confit if you want it to last longer. The tomato garlic confit can also be smashed up a bit using a spoon or a fork, poured into souper cubes and then frozen for months, ready to be put to use whenever you need to.
If you don’t have souper cubes, you can just use clean ice cube trays to store tomato confit.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Remember to use high quality extra virgin olive oil to make this tomato and garlic confit. It will really make a difference in how the flavors turn out.
- The amount of olive oil you need depends upon the size of your jar and the cherry tomatoes and garlic. You’ll need to add enough olive oil until the tomatoes are fully submerged in the olive oil.
- To bring some heat into the confit, you can add some chili flakes or whole jalapenos into it.
- Depending on your personal preference, you can use whole cherry tomatoes or chop them up and use them for this cherry tomato confit recipe.
- If you have used up all tomatoes, don't discard the oil from the confit. It actually packs in a ton of flavor that you could put to use for your other recipes like oven roasted veggies or to make some duck confit.
- And if you have some extra tomatoes, you can use them to make some Italian pan fried tomatoes as a nice side dish.
How to Serve the Tomato Garlic Confit
This tomato garlic confit is so versatile and easy to make- there are actually so many dishes and culinary creations you can serve with confit.
As a Spread
This ridiculously delicious tomato garlic confit with the marinated feta is the perfect flavorful topping over any crusty bread of your choice.
Spoon some of it over your bruschetta or toasted sourdough and enjoy it as a quick snack.
If you're made tomato confit without the marinated feta, you can also use some goat cheese, some salt and pepper to top your breakfast toast.
In a Pasta dish
You can also add a spoonful or two of this concoction to your pasta (like my creamy chicken pasta) after smashing it a bit to dial the flavors up a notch and infuse it with the buttery garlic and the juicy tomatoes.
With Grilled Meat
This confit can also be served as a side to any of your grilled proteins- especially chicken and fish. I love the idea of teaming it up with my Italian chicken cutlets.
FAQs
You can definitely use dried Italian herbs instead of the fresh variety, but using the fresh ones dials up the flavors like nothing else, so if you can, make sure you get your hands on them.
Your leftover tomato garlic confit can be crushed and processed into a smooth mixture and added to your homemade pasta or pizza sauces. You can also add it to your rice pilaf and risotto dishes to bump up the flavor.
You can definitely try making a version of this confit without the oven too. Just transfer all the ingredients in a heavy duty pan or a cast iron skillet and let it cook low and slow until the garlic and the tomatoes soften.
Related Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Tomato Garlic Confit with Marinated Feta
Ingredients
- 1 lbs cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 pc lemon (cut into wedges)
- 6-8 large cloves of garlic (peeled)
- 100 gms feta cheese (cubed)
- 1 tablespoon Fresh herbs of your choice (rosemary, thyme, basil)
- 1 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon Sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a baking dish or an oven-safe glass container, add the cherry tomatoes with all the other ingredients except the feta cheese.
- Pop the dish in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are tender and the garlic has browned up nicely.
- Take this out of the oven, allow it to cool down completely.
- Now transfer the contents into a clean glass jar, add the feta cheese and cover everything with the remaining olive oil.
- Refrigerate for up to a week and enjoy on your morning toast.
Nutrition
Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove