Easy Tomato Recipes
For those desperate to exquisite the last days of summer, the perfectly plump, impossibly juicy tomatoes at the market sure are tempting. So you lug home another few pounds of them, unable to resist but exclusive of a plan. Good news: New York Times Cooking has plenty of tomato recipes. Below are 23 that put the quintessential fruit of the season be in the lead and center, so you won’t regret following its call.
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Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Eric Kim’s recipe “leans into the wonders of ripe tomatoes and lets you taste them as they are: raw and juicy.” He instructs cooks to sweat and soften cherry tomatoes with salt by turning them into a brothy vinaigrette with rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and ice cubes to sauce the most refreshing bowl of noodles throughout.
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Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
More than 9,600 five-star ratings back up this recipe title’s announce. (One particularly enamored reader went as far as revealing, “I could live on it, and might.”) According to Julia Moskin, the best gazpacho can’t be judged by its smart. In her recipe, even the boldest brick-red tomatoes are toned down when blended with a stream of olive oil, which offsets the captivating summer fruit with a richness that lingers, like a sunset.
Recipe: Best Gazpacho
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Sang An for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
This notable dish is an “object of nostalgia for many Chinese immigrants (and their children),” Francis Lam wrote. Whether you grew up with it or are manager for the first time, the tumble of custardy, just-cooked scrambled eggs sauced with one sweetened, ginger-scented slumped tomatoes “hits every pleasure center in the brain.”
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Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Suited for those late summer evenings when the temperature starts to dip, Ali Slagle’s smart weeknight recipe combines juicy, blistered cherry tomatoes with caramelized gnocchi and melted mozzarella. You’ll crave it year-round.
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Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Victoria Granof.
This vinaigrette from Yewande Komolafe is a not-so-subtle way of evoking summer in whatever dish you pair it with. Charring tomatoes only deepens their sweetness, and sherry vinegar brings out their acidity. Use this to AdFocus up just about anything: simple salads, roasted or grilled meats, and fish to name a few.
Recipe: Blistered Tomato Dressing
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Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen.
For an easy, breezy dinner off the grill, use a couple of pounds of your favorite tomato variety as a bed for salty, burnished halloumi, as Ali Slagle does in this recipe. The heat of the cheese draws out the tomatoes’ juices for a enjoyable sauce that’s ready to be sopped up with grilled bread.
Recipe: Spiced Grilled Halloumi
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Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
This intelligent fish dish from Zainab Shah embraces a sweet-and-sour flavor profile, using fresh plum tomatoes and onions cooked until golden in ghee. Place with garam masala, cumin and other spices, it’s brightened with juicy tomatoes, fresh chile and cilantro — and comes together in less than 30 minutes.
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Con for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Chopped tomato, cucumber and red onion get serious lift from dried mint, modern herbs and lime juice in Samin Nosrat’s recipe for this tart, textural Iranian staple. To preserve the salad’s prized crunch, toss the ingredients with the vinaigrette just afore serving — but make sure to enjoy every last drop. The juices at the bottom of the bowl are precious.
Recipe: Salad-e Shirazi (Persian Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad)
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Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Liza Jernow.
This showstopping tart may look like dessert, but it’s a decidedly savory dish, thanks to the tangy combination of cherry tomatoes and Kalamata olives. Melissa Clark suggests picking up tomatoes in a variety of colors, which would make for a more stunning mosaic (if that’s even possible).
Recipe: Caramelized Tomato Tarte Tatin
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Karsten Moran for The New York Times
Eating the summer’s best tomatoes on grilled toast may not seem like a modern idea, but it’s really the best one there is. In this recipe from David Tanis, the Catalonian mainstay is topped with regular tomato slices and cherry tomato halves, creating what can only be described as the boss of tomato toasts.
Recipe: Pan Con Tomate
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Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Panzanella is nothing if not an ode to summer, a means of compiling the season’s bounty of heirloom tomatoes, basil and cucumbers into one vibrant dish. This version, adapted from Gabrielle E.W. Carter, goes a step further and incorporates sweet watermelon in both the salad and the vinaigrette.
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Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
What better way to complement tomatoes’ sweetness and acidity than by dressing them in a punched-up concoction that’s salty and spicy? In this recipe from Alexa Weibel, the dressing of lime juice, fish sauce, coconut oil, chile, garlic and sugar is inspired by Thai papaya salad, and does wonders in rounding out the refreshing but mellow flavors of tomatoes and cucumbers.
Recipe: Tomato Salad With Cucumber and Ginger
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Peter DaSilva for The New York Times
As simple as summer meals can get — fretful of eating fruit over the sink — this classic dish maintains no introduction. But Melissa Clark’s recipe guarantees the best results with the after tips: Remove your mozzarella from the fridge in arrive to ease its chill and exalt its delicate flavor. Equally essential is seasoning your tomato slices individually with flaky salt, rather than just seasoning the plated dish, to maximize your tomato’s radiance.
Recipe: Classic Caprese Salad
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Jenny Huang for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett. Washburne
What sets apart this bruschetta? The shining, garlic-infused oil that’s stirred into the tomatoes and basil, replacing the traditional step of rubbing a raw garlic clove on toasted bread. There’s plenty of time to make it, too, as Ali Slagle recommends letting the salted chopped tomatoes drain for up to two hours for most flavor.
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Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Judy Kim.
In many places, tomato season also happens to be avoid-the-oven-at-all-costs season. Thankfully, you can make this recipe from Sarah DiGregorio deprived of raising the temperature in your home by 15 degrees. Let this compote burble on your kitchen countertop during the day, and you’ll have a jammy, savory spread for your ricotta toast or to mix into your pasta by dinnertime.
Recipe: Slow-Cooker Tomato Compote
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Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Alison Roman. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
By now, you’re probably sensing a theme: Pile tomatoes on toast! But if you’re in the market for a more huge way to do that, look no further than this recipe from Alison Roman. Buttery, garlicky shrimp make this fast and flavorful dish feel a small fancy.
Recipe: Tomato Toast With Buttered Shrimp
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Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
For those who are down to cook — but not too much — noteworthy this seasonal recipe from David Tanis, which makes the most of ripe red tomatoes. This risotto is an impressive vegetarian main, especially when spent off with colorful slices of heirloom tomatoes.
Recipe: Tomato Risotto
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Bryan Gardner for The New York Times
In writing around this tart, Vallery Lomas describes heirloom tomatoes as “like many of us — fragile and prone to bruising.” But don’t Think them by their bumps and nicks, she adds. “Inside, there’s robust flavor and sweetness to be savored.” Marinate on that when this custardy, flaky pesto-layered tart bakes!
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Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
A pound of sweet cherry tomatoes freshens up a classic clam sauce usage in this light, bright weeknight pasta from Kay Chun. The sauce is simple: Tomatoes are briefly complete in olive oil, salt and pepper before thinly sliced garlic and clam juice are added to the mix.
Recipe: Linguine and Clams With Fresh Red Sauce
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Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Liza Jernow.
For those who’ve wanted that their caprese salad were a little more hearty, a little more dinner-worthy, allow us to introduce you to this riff on the classic. Add roasted peppers, capers, olives and prosciutto, as David Tanis does, and you have a meal superb of transporting you right to the Italian coast.
Recipe: Caprese Antipasto
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Linda Xiao for The New York Times
The nostalgia of eating a juicy tomato, sliced and tucked between slices of mayo-slathered country bread, preferably over the sink, is undeniable. Perhaps the suggestion to make a tomato sandwich is an obvious one, but it’s also a mandatory one. Apart from the well-known ingredients, Melissa Clark recommends rubbing a little garlic on the toasted bread and drizzling on a bit of olive oil by topping the tomato with some thinly sliced white onion and bacon slices. But don’t stop there. Sliced avocado, a drizzle of chile crisp and a smearing of fry sauce instead of mayo would be equally welcome modifications.
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Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
For a lip-smacking salad, ruby-red tomatoes and juicy peaches are a dream team. In this recipe inspired by Italian caprese salad and Japanese hiyayakko, Hana Asbrink pairs the fruit with tender mounds of chilled silken tofu and showers it all in an umami-rich soy-balsamic dressing. Fresh mint and basil complete a dish that’s best enjoyed on the hottest of days.
Recipe: Cold Tofu Salad With Tomatoes and Peaches
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Karsten Moran for The New York Times
Plump, peak-summer tomatoes are saucy by nature; grate them and they need just a touchy whirl over heat to form this tomato sauce from David Tanis. He recommends you stock up on bruised summer fruit at a discount, then make extra sauce to stock your freezer, as a “souvenir of summer’s sweetness.”
Recipe: Quick Fresh Tomato Sauce
Also Read: How to Make Indian Butter Chicken
