Confit Piccolo tomatoes on toast with anchovies and capers
Confit is a French word meaning ‘preserved’, but it is more synonymous these days with cooking ingredients slowly in fat, like duck fat. Here, Piccolo tomatoes have been submerged in an anchovy butter before being confited in the oven. During confiting, the tomato vines infuse a fresh, herbaceous flavour to the butter too. Served beautifully simply – on toast with some basil and capers – this is a hands-off way to elevate your tomatoes.
Any leftover butter used for confiting can be chilled, portioned and frozen as an anchovy-garlic-tomato compound butter.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 370g of unsalted butter
- 8 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
- 400g of Piccolo tomatoes on the vine
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 4 slices of sourdough bread
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 4 tsp capers, drained
- small basil leaves, to serve
Method
Preheat the oven to 110°C
Melt a knob of the butter with the anchovies in a small saucepan over a low heat, cooking until the anchovies have melted into the butter, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining butter and melt completely
- 370g of unsalted butter
- 8 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
Meanwhile, place the tomatoes on the vines in a small deep baking dish with the garlic
- 400g of Piccolo tomatoes on the vine
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Pour the melted anchovy butter over the tomatoes, making sure the tomatoes and their vines are fully submerged, then place into the oven and confit for 1½ hours or until very soft and slightly shrivelled. If not using straight away, allow to cool, then store in an airtight container, submerged in their fat in the fridge (you can also freeze the butter (see note))
Just before serving, toast the sourdough and drizzle with the olive oil
- 4 slices of sourdough bread
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
Carefully lift the tomatoes attached to their vines from the butter. Arrange the tomatoes onto the toast and garnish with the capers and basil leaves. Finish with flaky sea salt
- 4 tsp capers, drained
- small basil leaves, to serve
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