Sanctuary from The Mad World
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch. - Orson Welles

Servings: 12 pieces

The intention was to make Spring Vegetable Soup from Bouchon as it is spring and the ingredients for the soup are abundant. However, the soup itself - tasty, fresh, and light - is unremarkable in terms of technique. I mean, soup is basically stir-fried vegetables in fat of choice (olive, butter, etc) simmered in stock, right?  Variations are endless.

The Tomato Confit, though, is something else. I endured the long cooking time - by doing other things, I might add - and was rewarded favourably: my apartment smelled amazing from the mixture of olive oil, tomatoes, and basil. Taste-wise, it’s intensely tomato with all the sour-sweet-savoury of sun-dried tomatoes but ones which still retain their freshness.

It’s basically tomato preserves and, in this time and age, can appear to be indulgent due to the energy consumed to make such things. However, the article suggests that it is a good way to add flavours of summers into winter dishes.

As per the recipe, I used the confit as a topping in the vegetable soup to provide the tomato flavour without muddying the delicate taste of the soup. I wonder what else can I use it for.

Ingredients:
12 plum tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp minced thyme (I replaced it with 12 leaves of basil)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 120 degrees Celsius. Peel the tomatoes.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut the tomatoes lengthwise in half and place cut side up on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with salt, pepper, and herbs.

Place the sheet in the oven and cook for 5-6 hours, or until the tomatoes are dried about halfway through; they will have shrunk but should still be moist. Let cool on the baking sheet.

Layer the tomatoes in a storage container and pour the oil remaining on the baking sheet over the top. (The tomatoes can be refrigerated for up to a week).