This Tomato and Garlic Confit Pasta is the fruit of our labor after finding a bag of summertime tomatoes in our winter freezer! Scroll down for the recipe card to print and make this tonight!
Seasonal pastas are dishes we always keep on hand in our menu rotation. For more easy weeknight pasta inspo check out my recipes here.
Why You'll Love This Tomato and Garlic Confit Pasta
Summertime tomatoes were made for this recipe. I've loved making this each year when we get a batch of heirloom cherry tomatoes in our CSA box. Confit is a cooking technique by which any type of food that is cooked slowly over a long period as a means of preserving it. In this recipe, heirloom grape tomatoes are roasted, low and slow, alongside garlic and aromatics for at least an hour. This paves the way for a deliciously robust sauce that can be used in pastas, tarts, sandwiches, or even your favorite crostini.
Ingredients and Substitutions
We don't need a lot of ingredients to make this umami packed recipe. Here's what we'll need:
- Tomatoes: We're using tomatoes from Dessa that we froze whole last summer. This was a treat to find in winter when I was cleaning our freezer! You can use Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or grape tomatoes. We'll use about 2 pounds here.
- Good Quality Olive Oil: Because we are slow cooking the tomatoes in a 300 degree Fahrenheit oven, a good quality olive oil will be great to use here. Use whatever you have access to. Two of my favorites include California Olive Ranch and The Olive Press. Both are California based olive oil brands and are absolutely delicious!
- Aromatics: I love adding in fresh herbs any chance I get and the fresh thyme and rosemary from our garden is fantastic in this recipe. And since we're cooking low and slow here, the herbs do not burn but will infuse the oil to flavor our tomato and garlic confit.
- Garlic: Garlic lovers, rejoice! We're using a small whole head of garlic in this recipe. I adore it here.
- Pasta of Choice: In preparation for dinner, choose your favorite pasta shape. Tonight, we used spaghetti. Cavatappi, orecchiette, and penne are also great dried pasta options.
How to Make Tomato and Garlic Confit Pasta
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large cast iron skillet, layer the tomatoes in ⅓ cup good quality olive oil. Nestle the halve garlic head with the tomatoes, halved sides down. Season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Add the crushed red pepper flakes and nestle in the fresh herb sprigs. Give the mixture a light toss to coat everything together in the oil and aromatics.
- Roast the tomatoes low and slow for about an hour and half. The tomatoes will begin to fall apart and the garlic should be knife tender. Remove from the oven. Discard the herb sprigs. Carefully remove the garlic cloves from their skins. Using the back of a wooden spoon, give the confit a light mash and stir everything together to combine.
- During the last 15 minutes of cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add your pasta of choice. Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve about ½ cup of pasta water once cooked and add to the tomato and garlic confit. Give the pasta a good stir. Adjust seasoning as needed and garnish with chopped fresh herbs like parsley, basil, or chives.
Tips and FAQs
Store any leftover tomato and garlic confit in an airtight container. I love these for storing leftovers.
The options are endless! I love adding a dollop to the base of a sandwich, topping crostini with a smidge of burrata and a drizzle of good syrupy balsamic vinegar, or even use it as a base for a tart or quiche with a bit of goat cheese.
You can store tomato and garlic confit in the refrigerator for up to two weeks if kept in an airtight container.
Absolutely! If opting to freeze, portion your Tomato and Garlic Confit into a silicone ice cube tray for up to 3 months. Portioning into single servings helps for easy meal prep and to reduce food waste.
Tomato and Garlic Confit Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 pounds heirloom cherry tomatoes You can also use Roma tomatoes or grape tomatoes.
- 1 head of garlic halved
- 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large cast iron skillet, layer the tomatoes in ⅓ cup good quality olive oil. Nestle the halve garlic head with the tomatoes, halved sides down. Season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Add the crushed red pepper flakes and nestle in the fresh herb sprigs. Give the mixture a light toss to coat everything together in the oil and aromatics.
- Roast the tomatoes low and slow for about an hour and half. The tomatoes will begin to fall apart and the garlic should be knife tender. Remove from the oven. Discard the herb sprigs. Carefully remove the garlic cloves from their skins. Using the back of a wooden spoon, give the confit a light mash and stir everything together to combine.
- During the last 15 minutes of cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add your pasta of choice. Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve about ½ cup of pasta water once cooked and add to the tomato and garlic confit. Give the pasta a good stir. Adjust seasoning as needed and garnish with chopped fresh herbs like parsley, basil, or chives.
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