Smoked Summer Tomato Basil Butter

Ingredients

• 0.5 cup basil fresh chopped
• 8 servings sea salt to taste
• 2 large tomatoes smoked peeled seeded chopped (see Cook's Note)
• 1 cup butter unsalted room temperature (2 sticks)

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• whisk
• grill
• aluminum foil

Directions

1. Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl. (You can prepare the butter 2 to 3 days in advance and store it, covered, in the refrigerator.) Bring to room temperature before serving.
2. To smoke tomatoes, first cut out the cores so the smoke can reach inside then place the tomatoes in a disposable aluminum pan that will fit on your grill.
3. Drizzle the tomatoes with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper or just go plain. Prepare an indirect fire in your grill, with a medium-hot fire on one side and no fire on the other. If you have a charcoal grill, soak 1/2 cup wood chips (mesquite gives the most smoke flavor) in water for 30 minutes before smoking; if you have a gas grill, place dry wood chips in your grill's metal smoker box or fashion an aluminum foil packet, enclose the dry chips, and poke holes in the top of the foil. When ready to grill, drain, then scatter the soaked wood chips on the charcoal fire, replace the grill rack, and place the pan of tomatoes on the indirect (or no-fire) side. For a gas grill, place the packet of dry wood chips in the back of a gas grill over direct heat; place the tomatoes on the indirect (or no-fire) side. When you see the first wisp of smoke, close the lid of the grill and smoke the tomatoes until they have a burnished appearance and a smoky aroma, 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Remove the tomatoes from the grill and let cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, slip off the tomato skins, remove most of the seeds, and chop the tomatoes.
5. Reprinted with permission from The Gardener & The Grill by Karen Adler & Judith Fertig, © 2012 Running Press