15 Easy Recipes for Ripe, In-Season Tomatoes

Let the indisputable star of the summer shine in any one of these delicious dishes.

Perhaps you’ve already excitedly made gazpacho and pico de gallo and maybe even prepared a batch of red sauce for the freezer, but those perfectly ripe (and fresh) summer tomatoes at the market sure are tempting. So you lug home another few pounds of them, unable to resist but without a plan. Good news: New York Times Cooking has plenty. Below are more than a dozen recipes that put the quintessential fruit of the season front and center, so you won’t have regretted following their call. 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 essential ingredients, Melissa Clark recommends rubbing a little garlic on the toasted bread and drizzling on a bit of olive oil before 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. Recipe: Tomato Sandwich