We have had such a lovely abundance of cherry tomatoes this year. But then we have had some crazily inconsistent weather – and tomatoes don’t like inconsistent watering …. so we picked a load that had split. Gr. What to do?

I remember my host family in France (from a loooong time ago) had all kids of amazing confit jars (confit is French for preserved) in their cool basement. Lots of meats and veggies to get them through a snowy, regional winter. Since I couldn’t bear to waste these little gems, I decided to have a go at my own confit with my little red gems.

You’ll need:

• cherry tomatoes
• fresh herbs (I use basil, rosemary and thyme)
• garlic olive oil*
• salt and pepper

*If you don’t have have garlic infused oil, use olive oil and scatter through a handful of crushed garlic cloves.

Wash and pat dry your tomatoes. Remove little stems.

Place in a lined baking dish.

Tear herbs and scatter around the tomatoes. Drizzle very generously with oil, and season in salt and pepper to taste.

Place in a preheated 200C oven for about 40 minutes.

Allow to cool for a few minutes in the tray and then scoop into a sterile glass jar, including all the juices. Top with a little extra oil before sealing.

Store in the fridge for up to a month.

Roasting the tomato really intensifies the flavour so this confit is a great addition to many things – Serve on crunchy toast as a bruschetta, spread it on a pizza base, or add a few good scoops into your tomato bases sauces for pasta, bolognese or lasagne.

Enjoy 🙂