Confit Tomato & Aubergine Tarte Tartin
BBC
A good tarte tatin makes the perfect easy summer lunch – whether for friends or just yourself. It’s simple to make, looks beautiful, and tastes of the season. We love Rick Stein’s version, which layers in aubergine for texture and depth of flavour, and dried chilli for a subtle kick. Puff pastry for the base can be shop-bought (why wouldn’t you?), but don’t forget the garlic, thyme, and herbes de Provence for full flavour. Serve with a green salad and a cold glass of rosé for the ultimate garden lunch. Get the recipe.
Slow-Cooked Squid With Olives And Tomatoes
Olive Magazine
If anything can whisk you away to Mediterranean climes in a single bite, it’s this dish. The rich tomato base, the warmth of chilli, the freshness of parsley – and, of course, the tender squid – all combine to create an unforgettable dish. Close your eyes mid-bite and you could almost be sitting on a sunny harbour-side terrace, yachts bobbing on the glittering water. Get the recipe.
Melon, Tomato, Mozzarella, Two Chillies
Anna Jones
We love it when two summer classics collide. Melon in salads? Yes. Tomato and mozzarella? Always. Combined? Absolutely. This easy, refreshing dish is a perfect balance of sweet, creamy, and spicy – a joyful celebration of summer on a plate. Get the recipe.
Catalan Toasts
Nigella
Summer cooking is all about keeping things simple and letting the big, perfectly ripe flavours do the talking. Nothing exemplifies this philosophy better than the classic Catalan toast – the Spanish cousin of the Italian bruschetta (another favourite). As Nigella writes, ‘I first came across these in a tapas bar in Barcelona about 100 years ago. Pa amb tomàquet in Catalan, they are, I suppose, a version of an Italian tomato bruschetta, but instead of having roughly chopped tomatoes tumbled onto the bread, the tomatoes are halved and rubbed onto it or, often pushed through a box grater. Here, however, and with apologies to all Catalans, the tomatoes are finely chopped to a fuzzy mush with which the bread is merely anointed.’ The good thing is, unless you are catering to a tomato hater – in which case, this list is useless to you – then everyone, from the smallest to the oldest, adores this simplest of light meals. It should be noted, you really ought to have a glass of Cava to wash it down. Get the recipe.
Roasted Tomatoes & Labneh
Jamie Oliver
Got some leftover labneh and a glut of tomatoes? You know what to do. Sweet tomatoes, punchy garlic, softening labneh, all spread over a homemade (or not) flatbread: summer snacking sorted in seconds. Get the recipe.
Tomato & Chilli Jam
BBC Good Food
If you are harvesting tomatoes that you can’t use up now, consider making chilli-infused jam with them. The ideal way to make the most of their glory and bottle it for later, it’ll keep for up to a year in a sterilised jar. We love Heinz as much as the next overgrown child, but the depth of flavour and freshness of this recipe takes some beating. Plus, it’s perfect given as a present too. Get the recipe.
Tomato Base Sauce
Jamie Oliver
As all cooks know, the perfect tomato base sauce is the cornerstone of every culinary repertoire. Whether you’re using it as a pizza topping, atop pasta or to marinade fresh fish in, it is the very foundation of good cooking – and not always quite as easy to get right as one might imagine (such is the way with simple things: the less fuss, the greater the skill and the confidence, as a general rule). This one packs in the veg too, with leeks, carrots, celery, courgettes, peppers and squash alongside the tomato. The perfect way, then, to cram in goodness to fussy folk. Get the recipe.
