Writer (and lover) of all things food, from taste tests of your favorite grocery store staples to how-tos on trending recipes.

Pan con tomate is a classic Spanish appetizer, and it'll save your sanity when you're prepping a late-summer dinner party. Just toast bread, rub with garlic, and top with perfectly ripe, juicy, grated tomatoes.

Shrimp and fresh cherry tomatoes pair beautifully. And when spooned over a warm, buttery bed of orzo, it's a glorious weeknight dinner you'll want to permanently keep on the rotation.

Recipe: Garlic Shrimp and Tomatoes with Parmesan Orzo

Want to impress your dinner guests? This is the salad. Cool, crunchy shaved fennel is the perfect counter to ripe sliced tomatoes.

Thought Greek zucchini fritters were the ultimate fried summer vegetable? Think again. (Actually, there's a time and place for both. We're not pitting the fritters against each other.)

Recipe: Greek Tomato Fritters with Sun-Dried Tomato Yogurt Dip

You want peach cobbler, I want tomato cobbler. The solution: Serve one as a main, and one as dessert. Everyone wins!

Recipe: Tomato Cobbler with Cornmeal-Cheddar Biscuits

Slavic-style marinated tomatoes are a bright, zippy side dish that perfectly complements all your grilled proteins. The best part? They get better and better the longer they marinate — just be sure to choose a firmer variety at the store so they retain their texture.

I don't want my Bloody Mary served any other way, thank you very much. You don't have to layer with different colors of heirloom tomatoes...but let's take the whimsy where we can, you know?

Recipe: Fresh Heirloom Tomato Bloody Marys

Jammy cherry tomatoes elevate this bean dip to a show-stopping starter. Make it ahead to keep things easy-breezy when it's time to serve, then put it out with your favorite crackers and watch it disappear.

The subtle salty funk of miso makes the perfect base for this seasonal tart (that looks nearly too gorgeous to eat).

I've never met a tomato-braised chicken dish I didn't love. The acid from these fresh tomatoes helps to tenderize each piece of chicken while simultaneously keeping it perfectly juicy, which guarantees delish results every time.

Recipe: Skillet Chicken Thighs with Cherry Tomato Sauce and Za’atar

Even if the word "anchovy" sends a shiver down your spine, you still owe it to yourself to try this recipe. You won't taste any fishiness — just an umami-forward sauce that clings beautifully to each strand of pasta.

Cheong, the Korean technique for transforming fruit into a sweet syrup, serves as the base for this gloriously grown-up lemonade.

These crunchy cutlets are delicious as-is, but for a more chicken parm-adjacent meal, top each cutlet with a slice of mozzarella and broil until bubbly.

Recipe: Crispy Tofu Cutlets with Jammy Cherry Tomatoes

In the world of chilled summer soups (cough, cough: gazpacho), I'll fight for salmorejo until the day I die. Made with bread and oil, it's thicker, creamier, and way more substantial.

Recipe: Salmorejo (Spanish Chilled Tomato Soup)

Panzanella is the ultimate summer tomato dish. It's beautiful, fresh, and always a crowd-pleaser. For this one, you'll want to pick the juiciest, plumpest tomatoes you can find.

Recipe: Heirloom Tomato Panzanella Salad

This one's a staple in my home when the nights start feeling cool and fall-like — but the tomatoes are still ripe and just begging to be cooked into something delectable. Gouda is the perfect nutty companion for peak-season tomatoes, but classic sharp cheddar works nicely in a pinch.

Make a jar (or two) for now, then keep another jar in your freezer to be reminded of sunnier days when gloomier weather inevitably rolls around.

Recipe: Easy Charred Cherry Tomato Salsa

I scoffed when I first saw a tomato martini on my TikTok feed — then I tried one, and I take it all back. Shake 'em hard, serve incredibly cold, and dot with olive oil for an impressive summer cocktail that goes down real smooth.

Baked in parchment paper, ripe cherry tomatoes stay plump and flavorful, nearly rivaling the juicy salmon as the main event...and that's hard to do.

Recipe: Salmon En Papillote With Tomato Butter

Risotto has never tasted this summery. Serve it as is, or top it with seared scallops or shrimp for a little protein boost.

I won't say this method is the ultimate — people are very intense about their tomato sandwich preferences, after all — but I will say that crispy bacon never hurt anything.

You could serve this with crusty bread for a user-friendly dip, or you could serve it over pasta or grilled chicken. Leftover tomatoes keep beautifully in a jar in the fridge.

All the jammy eggs and bursting tomatoes with none of the hands-on work. There's never been a better breakfast for a crowd.

This orzo salad is delicious right after it's made, but it's also just as good (if not better) after a day or two in the fridge, making it a perfect recipe for quick lunch prep.

Recipe: Orzo Salad with Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette & Burrata

Save this minimalist recipe for making use of that extra-ripe, extra-flavorful batch of tomatoes you get your hands on. 

With eggplant, zucchini, and plenty of tomatoes, ratatouille is always the ultimate summer comfort dish, and this oven-roasted version is as care-free as your final summer weeks should be.

If you don't have a tart pan, you can still make this elegant dish in a pie dish — and if you don't have either (no judgment!), you can even spread out the crust on a sheet pan for a more "rustic" approach.

Prep this fluffy egg strata on Saturday night for the easiest-ever late summer brunch.

Don't mess with a classic. Garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and basil are all you need when tomatoes are perfectly in season.

Chinese tomato egg meets noodle soup — and it only takes 10 minutes to make.

Recipe: 10-Minute Tomato Egg Drop Noodle Soup

Before summer is over, promise yourself that you'll make a big batch of fresh tomato sauce and keep it in the freezer for fall and winter pasta nights. If you have more patience than I, you can even properly can your sauce to enjoy this summer's bounty for months (or years) to come.

And when you want a fresh, vibrant tomato sauce for tonight, minimal effort required, it's hard to get better than this three-ingredient recipe. Tomatoes, olive oil, basil, done.