It’s the end of summer and you now have the answer to the question, “Did I plant too many tomatoes in my garden?” Even now in early October, the markets are still brimming with beautiful heirloom varieties. Your neighbors stopped asking if you’d like some, and now they just leave them at your doorstep. There’s only so much tomato sauce a household needs and you need a little something different- something easy you can keep on hand to elevate a sandwich, pizza, bruschetta or a filet of grilled fish.
What is tomato jam?
During a course at the Cordon Bleu in Paris, I learned a slew of sauces, some complicated and others deceptively simple. The recipe for melted tomato concassé was among my favorites. Maybe because it was so simple and flavorful or maybe because I provided a needed a glimmer of summer during an otherwise dreary winter in Dublin, where I was living at the time.
In the French kitchen, concassé simply means peeled, de-seeded and finely diced. But that title doesn’t necessarily work in English. So I’ve made some adjustments that seem to work better in my kitchen. My tomato jam starts by sautéing minced shallots in olive oil and then cooking down the tomatoes with garlic and thyme until it gets…well, jammy! Pretty simple, right?
Think of tomato jam as a condiment that you can use in any way you would use a tomato sauce, but more flavorful and perhaps more luxurious than tomato sauce.
What can I do with tomato jam?
Anything! Perhaps the simplest way to extend your summer, this saucy little number can be served warm or cold, with just about anything you like. Tomato jam goes really well on sandwiches- try it on a BLT or serve it as an accompaniment to a fancy grilled cheese. You can serve it with a simple piece of grilled fish, chicken or vegetables. It also takes homemade pizza to a whole new level.
Or go totally deluxe and have a two sauce dish by pairing tomato jam pair it with my rouille recipe, another easy one I learned at Le Cordon Bleu. “Can I have two sauces on one plate?” you ask. Yes! You can and you deserve it! Poach some shrimp and treat yourself to a little end of summer rouille and tomato jam cocktail party!
Now, go make a whole bunch of tomato jam and keep some in the freezer to give yourself a sunny boost in the depths of winter.
Tomato Jam
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes about 6 medium
- 2 tbs finely minced onion or shallot
- 2 tbs cup olive oil
- 2 springs of fresh thyme
- 2 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch sugar optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by concassé-ing your tomatoes. To concassé something means to peel, deseed and dice very finely. To peel, simply drop them in boiling water for about 30 seconds. The skins should slide off easily. Halve the tomatoes and remove as many seeds as you can (a few seeds in there won’t hurt anything). Dice the tomatoes as finely as you can without turning them into mush.
- Add the finely minced onion or shallot to a small saucepan and sweat them on medium low with the olive oil and a pinch of salt until they are translucent, about 2-3 minutes ( we don’t want to achieve any color here).
- Add the diced tomatoes, garlic (whole cloves, peeled), thyme, and a pinch of salt to the pan. Continue to cook on medium-low for about 15-20 minutes, uncovered, until most of the tomato water has evaporated and you are left with a lovely, jammy consistency.
- Remove the spring of thyme and garlic (optional, I leave it in for the garlic-lovers) and check the seasoning. Add salt and pepper to your liking. If you happen to be making this with out of season or less than fabulous tomatoes, they might benefit from a pinch of sugar.
- Serve warm, cold or room temperature with just about anything!
Leave a Reply