Tomato time: 8 great recipes to celebrate the happiest season

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Recipe: Gazpacho (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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FLAVORFUL: For an intense twist on the classic sauce, add a blend of roasted plum tomatoes and several other varieties. Recipe: Summer tomato sauce. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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Recipe: Garlic and herb-stuffed tomatoes (Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times)

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Recipe: Roasted tomato confit with bacon fat (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

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Recipe: Tomato marmalade (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

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Slow-roasted tomatoes and pesto concentrate the flavors of late summer in this free-form lasagna. Recipe: Free-form lasagna with slow-roasted tomatoes and pesto (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

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Recipe: Moroccan lamb tagine with melting tomatoes and onions (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

By Russ Parsons

Aug. 3, 2013 6:45 AM PT

Here we are at that happy time of year when even supermarket tomatoes can taste really good. Do you realize what a profound statement that is? For nine or 10 months of the year, grocery store tomatoes are sorry things intended only to provide a bit of color – and not much color at that. But with the peak of summer comes tomatoes that really have flavor. Enjoy them while they’re here.

How to Choose: There’s as much art as science in choosing a great tomato. There are a few basics: you don’t want any obvious damage to the skin; you don’t want to feel any particular mushy spots (as opposed to a general softness); you want a tomato that’s heavy for its size. Beyond that, tomatoes are so diverse in color, shape and texture, the main thing to go by is perfume. All tomatoes, whatever the hue, should smell wonderful.

How to Store: Please, for the love of all that is holy (and I include great tomatoes among that group), do NOT refrigerate tomatoes. Ever. Unless it’s at the point where fruit flies are buzzing and the only alternative is to throw it out. The flavor and aroma of a tomato will never recover from being refrigerated. On the other hand, store a tomato that is under-ripe at room temperature and it will continue to ripen and improve.

How to Prepare: Well jeez, what do you want me to say? Slice, salt, black pepper and just a hit of really good olive oil. You can take it from there.

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