Prep Time 5 Minutes
Serves 2
Cook Time 5 Minutes
Difficulty Easy
Ingredients
- Tomatoes – 1kg / 2.2 lbs
- Garlic – 6 cloves
- Brown sugar – 1 tbsp
- Maldon sea salt – couple of pinches
- Basil – a handful of whole leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil – about 6 tbsp, depending on your jar size
- Balsamic vinegar– 2 tbsp
Method
- Preheat the oven to a low heat, 150oC/GM3/300oF. Cut the tomatoes into quarters (or half if they’re small), trying to cut out the stalky bit out as you go.
- Put them in a ceramic or heavy bottom dish, so they’re no more than one layer thick. Add the thinly sliced garlic and onions and sprinkle on the sugar and salt. Throw in desired herbs torn up a bit, for example basil, rosemary, or thyme. Glug on the olive oil and liberally apply the balsamic vinegar.
- Mix it all up a bit with your hands so that everything is coated with the juices.
- Put the dish in the oven for about an hour, while you have a nice glass of wine and give the tomatoes the odd stir. When the hour’s up, turn off the oven and leave the tomatoes to cool down slowly inside before you start to bottle.
- Pack into a sterilised jar then pour in your extra virgin olive oil to cover the tomatoes. Not only does the oil preserve the tomatoes by sealing them away from any external microbes that may be lingered, it also gives them a delicious added flavour to either eat as is for antipasti or throw straight into your cooking. You can also use flavoured oil for this, for example Basil flavoured oil is perfect for preserving tomatoes.
- Store in the fridge and once opened make sure that the tomatoes are always stored covered in oil to keep that preservation.