Summer Tomatoes, 7 Ways

Oprah.com

By Lynn Andriani

The One-Bite App

Use: Cherry tomatoes

These pesto-stuffed tomatoes are bright and beautiful, and offer a fresh alternative to tomato-basil-mozzarella skewers. Use cherry and not grape tomatoes; otherwise, they won't stand upright and the filling will spill out.

Ingredients

1 cup fresh basil leaves
3 to 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
5 Tbsp. pine nuts
1/2 tsp. sea salt, or to taste
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional as needed
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 pound cherry tomatoes

Directions

Place the basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, salt, olive oil, and Pecorino in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. If the pesto is too thick for your taste, add a little more olive oil.

Cut the tops off the tomatoes. With a small spoon (I use an espresso spoon), scoop out the seeds and pulp, taking care not to puncture the skin. Fill the tomatoes with the pesto and serve at room temperature.

From Whatever Happened to Sunday Dinner? (Sterling Epicure) by Lisa Caponigri.

The Anytime Pie

Use:Baby pear tomatoes

Think of this lunch or brunch essential as a cross between a pizza and a fruit pie. You pile a savory mixture of baby pear tomatoes (which, like tiny pears, have narrow necks and a wide, round base), onions and celery into a crust, and then lay strips of dough over the filling in a crisscross pattern. The finished dish is mellow and just a little sweet, and tastes delicious hot, room temperature or cold.

Get the recipe:Tomato Pie





The New Spin on a Fried Classic

Use:Green tomatoes

This recipe,from Sheryl Crow's personal chef Chuck White, is a play on the traditional BLT, without the bread. Fried tomato slices act as bookends, and, in between, roasted-garlic aioli acts as mayo, pancetta as bacon and spinach as lettuce.

Get the recipe:Fried Green Tomato BLT









The Soup You Want When It's Sweltering Out

Use:Heirloom tomatoes

This simple gazpacho is a wonderful way to highlight the acidity, sweetness and juiciness of those weird/beautiful-looking farm-stand classics. It's a great busy-day dinner, too, since you can make it ahead of time--the longer it sits in the fridge, the better it'll taste.

Get the recipe:Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho







The Sunday Supper

Use:Plum tomatoes

With fewer seed compartments, and more solid content than their round counterparts, torpedo-shaped plum tomatoes are ideal for making pasta sauce. The San Marzano variety is the Rolls-Royce of plum tomatoes, but any ripe variety will work in this easy sauce.

Get the recipe:Fresh Roma Tomato Sauce









The Stunningly Simple Sandwich

Use:Any kind of tomato, as long as it has a bit of that odd, dry-tomato-stem smell still on it

Here's all you need to make this perfect summer lunch: Thick slices of tomato, good bread, mayonnaise, salt and a little black pepper. That's it. Take a big bite, then another, and remember this moment in January.

Get the recipe:Tomato Sandwich







The Condiment You'll Put on Almost Anything

Use:Beefsteak tomatoes

Chef Michelle Bernsteincreated this fresh tomato relish--which has a rich flavor and hearty texture (read: not watery)--to complement juicy pork tenderloin with parsley-cilantro sauce. But it's also terrific with hamburgers, hot dogs or roasted chicken. One more way we love it: spread on top of bread or pizza dough as a stand-in for marinara sauce.

Get the recipe:Tomato Relish