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SMOKED RED TOMATO CHUTNEY

I made this gem up a few weeks ago.  I had an abundance of tomatoes in the garden and they needed to be used in a creative and yummy fashion.  As you would rightly suspect.  We tried something similar on our travels to England in a wonderful old pub where we stopped for lunch.   I have been puzzling for quite sometime as to how I was going to get the smoke flavour in the chutney with very little effort.  It took me 3 months of research to settle on a method that I thought would be cool.  The secret is liquid hickory smoke.  Who'd have thought it?

This chutney is absolutely amazing with a strong Cheddar and of course a pint of ale.  My mouth is actually watering at the thought of it right now.  Funny thing is 'I don't even like tomatoes'.

OK my lovelies brace yourselves and gird your loins, here comes the recipe.

SMOKED RED TOMATO CHUTNEY

6lb ripe peeled tomatoes  (if you need to know how to do this please ask, I have all the answers)
1lb sliced onions
12 oz white sugar
300ml or 1/2 pint cider vinegar
1 oz salt
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
@ 15 drops liquid smoke

. Peel and chop the tomatoes and peel then slice the onions.
. Place in a large pan and cook very gently until the tomatoes and onions release their juices.
. Simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes.
. Add the salt, paprika and cayenne along with the tomato paste and half of the vinegar.
. Cook gently for another 45 minutes or until it begins to thicken.  (The trick is not to get impatient with this
  step.
. If you turn up the heat too high your chutney will burn and if you don't simmer it long enough you will get
  runny chutney.)
. Add the sugar and remaining vinegar, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved.
. Continue simmering until the chutney becomes good and thick, don't forget to stir it occasionally.
. Then add about 15 drops of hickory liquid smoke.  Add more or less depending on your taste preferences.
. Then put the completed chutney into sterile canning jars.
. Let it sit for a couple of weeks, the flavour will really improve.

Ta Da........... There that was easy wasn't it.  And if you don't want to make it you can invite yourself over to my place and try mine as long as you bring the ale.