They may have been immortalised in Joseph Campbell's famous condensed soup, but tomatoes have been grown domesticaly since 500 BC and today around 125 million tons of the taut-skinned red fruits are produced in the world annually.
How to
Smoke tomatoesRemove the core from about 40 Rosa tomatoes and score a cross into the top of each.
Scatter some genuine French-oak wine barrel shavings into a pan (just enough to cover the base) and place over a high heat.
Place the tomatoes in a Chinese steamer basket and set over the pan.
When the shavings start to smoke, cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium.
Smoke for 15 minutes, or until the tomato skins start to come away from the flesh.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool, then peel.
Great in homemade tomato sauce and dishes.