If you too are all about the savory but need something to accent a sandwich, crostini or toast that brings a little sweetness, look no further. Tomato Jam will be your 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. If you don't, I am going to do my darndest to convince you otherwise. If you're not in the mood to be convinced, you can move on to this dish or this one. I won't judge.
Furthermore, who says jam is relegated to tree fruits? Since tomatoes really are a fruit, it stands to reason that they belong in jam. Especially when they're paired with some tongue-tingling ingredients like two different kinds of vinegar, paprika, cayenne, and garlic. All it takes is one bite of tomato jam to realize the options available from having it in the house.
Start with a sheet pan filled with little grape or cherry tomatoes all surrounding a perfectly 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. PSA - if it's summer, do this part in the morning so you don't get your kitchen too hot and steamy.
Pop the garlic cloves right out of the skins (which is so satisfying) and add those along with the tomatoes to a blender. Pulse 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.
Once you give Tomato Jam a try, you're going to wonder what you did all your life without it. Tomato Jam makes the perfect appetizer spread. Start with a crostini topped with a little goat cheese or fresh mozzarella, marinated black olives and fresh basil. Along the same lines, you could spread the whole batch across some grilled, charred pizza crust and top it with big plops of ricotta alternated with pesto. It all works.
Speaking of working, picture Tomato Jam as condiment for grilled chicken breasts or take it to breakfast on a piece of thick sweet Hawaiian bread with the perfect poached egg and a piece of salty bacon. Salt AND savory?? My goodness yes!`
Have I convinced you yet?
Tips
For a few:
Use as a sandwich spread with turkey or sliced chicken with fresh mozzarella and arugula on hearty bread.
For a crowd:
- Serve spread on crostini with goat cheese and fresh basil.
- Mix with greek yogurt for a quick veggie dip.
📖 Recipe
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Cool and store in a wide mouth mason jar or container.
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