tomatoes

Want to celebrate the best of tomato season? Then make these slow-roasted tomatoes. When roasted at a high temperature for a long period of time, the tomatoes caramelize and get incredibly sweet and juicy. They almost taste like sun-dried tomatoes and are great in everything from pasta to sandwiches to salads. The recipe is uncomplicated: you simply slice the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and bake. I like to use roma tomatoes, but feel free to substitute your favorite variety. For the easy technique, keep reading.

Although I love Caprese salad and taco salad, my all-time favorite salad is this BLT salad. It tastes just like a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, but it's a salad. Genius! It's full of salty bacon, juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce, and toasted croutons. The dressing is a mixture of buttermilk, mayonnaise, and cider vinegar that's seasoned with a little bit of scallions. Get started on this salad an hour before you plan on serving it — that way both the bacon and croutons will have plenty of time to cool. Or, make those elements the day before you plan on enjoying it. Want to eat this salad? You know you do! Here's the recipe.

Are you a fan of Caprese salad? You know, the classic Italian dish that consists of tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella? If you are enthusiastically nodding your head yes, you've got to make this amazing veggie burger! It takes the ingredients from the salad and transforms them into a sandwich.

The recipe is pretty basic and can easily be adapted to suit your needs. Too hot in your neighborhood to turn on the oven? Slow-cook the tomatoes on the grill. Don't have a food processor? Use your favorite store-bought pesto instead of making your own.

However you make it, you've got to give this scrumptious burger a try. With its juicy tomato, garlicky pesto, and melted mozzarella, it's like the ultimate tomato sandwich. Keep reading for the perfectly seasonal recipe.

Amatriciana is a classic Italian pasta sauce that's made of guanciale, tomatoes, and pecorino cheese. The quick and delicious pasta recipe that's shown here takes inspiration from the traditional Roman dish. Bacon replaces the guanciale; fresh, in-season tomatoes make up the fragrant scrumptious sauce; and parmesan is used instead of pecorino. The sauce comes together in the same amount of time that it takes to boil the water and cook the spaghetti, so you'll have an amazing dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. Read more if you are interested in the crowd-pleasing recipe.

It's easy to forget that shellfish, like clams and mussels, are an affordable and quick-cooking option for weeknight meals. That's why if you're a fan of shellfish, you should make an effort to add these delectable bivalves to your repertoire! Start with this finger-licking good mussel recipe. The mussels are cooked in a flavorful broth that consists of chorizo, fresh tomatoes, white wine, and garlic. The ingredient list calls for a small amount of cream, but if you want to omit it, the dish won't lose anything. For a complete meal, serve with crusty French bread (for dipping in the delicious sauce!) and a side of mixed greens. Pair the mussels with the wine you used to make the broth. Mussel lovers: add this recipe to your collection now.

Compared to the produce stars of Summer, I'm looking at you heirloom tomatoes and corn on the cob, eggplant is somewhat of a sad little sister. Rarely does it get the recognition it deserves and it's normally served fried or in expected preparations like eggplant parmesan. However this earthy purple vegetable, that's in season from May through October, is an excellent ingredient in this hearty chopped salad. The delectable recipe combines chunks of eggplant with tomatoes and zucchini. It's seasoned with a generous amount of fresh oregano and just before serving, all the veggies are tossed with bread crumbs and salty feta cheese. The resulting side dish is so flavorful and satisfying that even self-proclaimed eggplant haters asked for seconds when I served it. You've got to add this delicious vegetarian dish to your repertoire, so get the recipe now.

Although there is much debate over whether or not tomatoes should be stored in the fridge, the best way to keep tomatoes depends on the ripeness of fruit.

• Keep unripe green tomatoes, stem side down, in a paper bag or single layer in a cardboard box in a cool area until they turn red in color.
• Perfectly ripe tomatoes, fresh from the garden or farmers market, should be kept at room temperature, on the counter away from sunlight, in a single layer, not touching one another, stem side up. Consume within a couple of days.
• Overripe tomatoes that are soft to touch with very red flesh are best kept in the fridge. The cold air will keep the tomatoes from ripening more and they should last for another three days. Before eating refrigerated tomatoes, take them out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature. This will allow the fruit to develop some of the flavor it has lost due to refrigeration.

What's your method for storing Summer's bounty of tomatoes?

Thanks to GraceDickinson for sharing this shot of a variety of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes!

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Homemade pizza is a great dish to add to your weeknight repertoire. Especially when using a store bought dough, it can come together in under 45 minutes. If you enjoy creative toppings, you'll love this hearty chicken pie. Actually, it's really more of a flatbread, since there is no sauce. This recipe makes perfect use of the season's ripe tomatoes. The toppings are simple: spicy blackened chicken, chunky tomato salsa, and tons of pepper jack cheese. It's an unusual, yet scrumptious pizza that's packed with flavor and heat. This blackened chicken pizza would taste even more delicious when cooked on the grill, so if it's hot in your neck of the woods, take it outside! Get the recipe now.