tomatoes

There are two very different ways to cook with tomatoes, and the season determines which one you should be doing.

In summer, when heirloom varieties are at the farmers market and a ripe tomato needs almost nothing done to it, the best recipes are the ones that get out of the way — a burrata salad with good olive oil, charred cherry tomatoes thrown on a grill alongside pesto chicken, a loaded bruschetta that heavily relies on good bread and better tomatoes.

Once summer passes, cooked tomatoes take over with a slow-simmered meat sauce, and a creamy tomato basil bisque that becomes something entirely different once it hits the blender.