Tomato Love

May 16, 2022
Recipe developer Howard salutes the “versatility and alluring complexity” of the much loved high-summer fruit in this inspired collection of recipes. She starts by differentiating common tomato varieties (large, meaty beefsteak tomatoes should only be purchased during the summer, while smaller, sweet camparis can be “somewhat reliable” even in the cooler seasons) and provides advice for choosing canned and boxed options—avoid chopped when possible, she urges, as “the additives make for an inferior-tasting product.” Both fresh and canned tomatoes are put to use throughout her collection, the bulk of which puts fun twists on classic tomato dishes in such offerings as BLTKs (BLT kebabs), roasted tomato basil soup with pumpernickel croutons, and ravioli lasagna with any-day red sauce (she ditches the lasagna noodles for ravioli to create the pasta layers). Elsewhere, sun-dried tomato scones are served up for breakfast with savory scallion butter, while enchilada stacks with chipotle salsa offer an easy and flavorful weeknight option thanks to a time-saving store-bought rotisserie chicken. While instructions are straightforward, they occasionally leave out important details (for instance, Howard doesn’t specify the shelf life of her tomato vinaigrette). Still, this offers an endless array of ways to turn the humble staple into a standout meal.