If you have a smoker you are likely using it to season meats. Try vegetables too. Here is a terrific recipe I made recently you might like. Preparation for smoking the tomatoes can be found at the end of the post.

Heat about 4 Tablespoons olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Saute 1 large red onion, seasoning with salt and pepper, for about 5 minutes or until just softened, stirring occasionally. Add 6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced for a minute or two until fragrant. Add 8 smoked plum tomatoes (see below), skins slipped off and coarsely chopped. Cook at least 5 minutes until most of the liquid is evaporated. If desired add pinch of red pepper flakes and a couple of tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley or cilantro. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover pot for 10 minutes. Use an immersion blender (or food mill or blender) to process to even consistency. Use immediately or refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.

You could serve this over pasta or as an accent for beef, chicken or tofu. We sampled it over sliced zucchini with Parmesan cheese and Kalamatta Olives for a tasty vegetarian version. The light smokiness of the sauce was a perfect and surprising flavor.

Smoking the Tomatoes

I have an indoor stove top smoker (Camerons brand) for use in a small NYC apartment that works great. If you have a larger or outdoor smoker, all the better. For my unit I can fit about 8 large plum tomatoes, core out the stem end and cut in half lengthwise. Scrape out seeds and juice, place cut end up in smoker, sprinkle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Because of the short smoking time use hickory or mesquite chips. Smoke for about 10 minutes and turn off heat, let sit with lid on about 20 minutes to absorb as much smoke as possible. Open smoker and let cool. (In addition to sauce, these could be substituted for other cooked or warmed tomato recipes. Would be especially nice in a salsa!)

Hope you enjoy!

As always you can find more at http://www.walterthinnes.com and on Twitter @walterthinnes