Slow roasted tomato jam is rich, sweet and what you need all over your crostini. A sweet, savory jam ripe with caramelized cherry tomatoes and roasted garlic, this warm tomato jam is great base for avocado toast, a spread for turkey sandwich or equally at home on a charcuterie board. It'll be your jam.
What slow roasting does to tomato jam
Condiments are the difference between a good sandwich and a great one. Right? Hopefully after you check out this tomato jam, you will agree. Summer cherry tomatoes (or grape or heirloom...or whatever you have) and garlic cloves are slow roasted in the oven and then simmered into a rich, jammy spread.
It tastes like summer.
⇢ Other condiment friendly recipes like this you'll ♥️: rich and easy roasted garlic, crispy garlic bread, or a juicy chicken ciabatta sandwich. And give my balsamic glaze recipe a try...so good!
What you'll need
Tomato jam starts with tomatoes and ends with tomato paste. Here's are the standout ingredients:
Ingredient spotlight: triple concentrated tomato paste
Tomato paste is what intensifies rich umami flavor in homemade spaghetti sauce. Not your ordinary canned tomato paste, triple concentrated tomato paste is exactly what it sounds like: tomato paste that is three times as intense as tomato paste. Tomato paste in a tube has salt as its preservative instead of citric acid.
How to make slow roasted tomato jam
- Start with a sheet pan filled with little grape or cherry tomatoes all surrounding a head of trimmed garlic. Drizzle with lots of olive oil and salt and pepper.
- Roast them all up for a long time on a low setting for a little over and hour. Enjoy all the awesome smells coming out of your oven.
- Puree the tomatoes and garlic in a blender for about 15 seconds. Next, add the tomatoes and garlic along with the remaining ingredients to a wide saucepan and in about 30 minutes you'll have tomato jam. No pectin, no stabilizers. Just GOOD.
How to trim garlic
Using a sharp knife, turn the head on its side and stick the blade of the knife into the head of garlic just below the crown. Cut at the point where each top of the individual cloves will be exposed.
Best uses for savory tomato jam
Once you give tomato jam a try, you're going to wonder what you did all your life without it. All it takes is one bite of tomato jam to realize the options available from having it in the house. Here are some ideas:
- Grilled chicken breasts. Serve with a batch of grilled chicken breasts, some crusty bread and an crispy arugula salad for the best al fresco summer meal!
- Pizza. Grill a homemade pizza crust and spread a whole batch of umami-rich tomato jam across some grilled, charred pizza crust. Top it with big plops of ricotta alternated with pesto. It all works.
- Eggs. Tomato jam is an yummy condiment for eggs in a hole.
Have I convinced you yet?
Storage tips and freezer suggestions
Storage
Store in a sealed mason jar or airtight container for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Freeze
Freeze in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature and mix to blend.
Made this recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Slow Roasted Tomato Jam
Equipment
- saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, washed
- 1 small head of garlic, *top trimmed | see notes or picture in post
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
- ¼ cup cooking sherry
- 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
- 2 tablespoon triple concentrated tomato paste, *see note below
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°
- Place the head of garlic on a small piece of foil and drizzle lightly with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and then enclose the garlic with foil. Place in the center of a lightly oiled or sprayed, rimmed baking sheet.1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, 1 small head of garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper
- Surround the garlic with the tomatoes. Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.
- Bake in preheated oven for 1 ¼ hours until the tomatoes are caramelized and juicy.
- Pulse the tomatoes and garlic for 15 seconds until lightly pureed.
- Add blended tomatoes and garlic to a 4 qt. saucepan. Add remaining ingredients to pan and simmer for about 20 minutes on low until the jam thickens and coats the back of a spoon.1 8 oz can tomato sauce, ¼ cup cooking sherry, 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 ½ teaspoon pepper, 2 tablespoon sugar, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne, 2 tablespoon triple concentrated tomato paste
- Cool and store in a wide mouth mason jar or container.
Notes
About Lori Murphy
Lori has over 30 years in the food industry as a marketing strategist, culinary instructor and chef for three kids with discerning palates. As the chief content creator at Josie + Nina, Lori is dedicated to helping home cooks create food memories through fresh ingredients and Italian flavors.
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