This tomato salad with shallot vinaigrette from Alice Waters is our platonic ideal of the dish. Get the recipe for Heirloom and Cherry Tomato Salad

Chimichurri and a tomato-onion salad are perfect for offsetting the richness of creamy polenta. Get the recipe for Summer Polenta with Chimichurri and Tomatoes »

Get the recipe for Estela’s Tomato Toast »

Dried fava bean purée is served all over Puglia, typically with cooked bitter greens and fried or toasted bread. Giorgia Goggi adds lemon juice and miso, and uses it as a base for crostini. Leftovers are an excellent dip for raw vegetables. Get the recipe for Roasted Tomato and Grape Toasts with Fava Bean Puree »

In the Horn of Africa, they serve a version of panzanella tossed not with fresh tomatoes, but with a rich, spicy tomato stew. Crusty bread soaks up the juices and cooling yogurt provides contrast and sweet relief. Get the recipe for Eritrean Spicy Tomato Bread Salad with Yogurt (Fata) »

Cool, vaguely acidic, and faintly sweet, gazpacho is the definitive Andalusian dish. Get the recipe for Gazpacho Andaluz

“Spices have always fascinated me. I collect them from all over the world,” says Giorgia Goggi, who accents this soup with Middle Eastern sumac and Indian garam masala. If you can’t find fresh yellow tomatoes, red will work just as well. Yellow Tomato Soup with Lamb Meatballs, Yogurt, and Mint »

Cherry tomatoes are tossed with canned sardines here, along with fresh oregano, olives, capers, and a red wine vinaigrette. The whole thing is layered with thin slices of heirloom tomato between slabs of focaccia.

Oven-Stewed Tomatoes

This refreshing summer soup, adapted from La Guarida restaurant in Havana, is meant to be served lightly chilled. Olive oil, garlic, pink peppercorn, and smoky grilled shrimp round out the sweetness from the strawberries and watermelon. Add ¼ teaspoon of sugar if the fruit is more tart than sweet. Get the recipe for Strawberry, Watermelon, and Tomato Gazpacho »

Italian panzerotti are semi-circular pockets of bread that are usually filled with cheese, deep-fried, and eaten hot. SAVEUR intern Suhashini Sarkar first tried these in Milan; her sister has since developed her own recipe that uses a sauce made from fresh tomatoes. It’s reminiscent of pizza, but deep-fried and portable. Get the recipe for Fresh Tomato and Mozzarella Panzerotti

Briny and slightly crispy fried capers punch up the flavor of this classic Italian tomato and mozzarella salad. Get the recipe for Caprese Salad with Fried Capers and Basil »

Florence Jackson, the author’s grandmother and a Nova Scotia native, made use of shoulder-­season produce to prepare this tangy relish. It is often served with meat and fish dishes, where it adds a bright note of sweetness. While chow-chow can be used immediately, its flavor improves with time. Consider making a large batch and putting it up in properly sterilized canning jars to last through the winter months. Get the recipe for Green Tomato Chow Chow »

In this twist on the classic comforting soup, tomatoes are smoked on the stove top before being reduced with red wine and puréed. The smokier taste to this soup compliments grilled sausage well in the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich—the Kumru. Get the recipe for Smoked Tomato Soup »

Michelle Heimerman

Our idea of the perfect summer sandwich? Two thin slices of good toast, mayo, and a couple juicy slices of tomato.

Sweet, ripe, summer tomatoes dressed in olive oil, vinegar, and basil are tossed with garlicky, toasted bread cubes to soak up the delicious juices in this classic Italian salad. Get the recipe for Summer Panzanella »

In this recipe from Amanda Cohen, chef-owner of New York City’s Dirt Candy, tomato powder lends flavor to this savory-sweet cake, which gets topped with smoked feta cream and cherry tomato halves. Get the recipe for Tomato Cake with Smoked Feta Cream and Marinated Tomatoes »

Justin Walker

Chef Bill Smith of Crook’s Corner, a restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, serves a version of this refreshing dish during the late summer. Smith says he developed the salad after paying a visit to a few of his former cooks in Mexico, where he discovered a range of dishes that melded sweet, spicy, and sour flavors. Get the recipe for Watermelon and Tomato Salad »

Ripe tomatoes develop umami-rich flavor when grilled with a soy sauce marinade. Mitsuba, a Japanese relative of parsley, lends a mild cilantro-like freshness. Get the recipe for Tadashi’s Grilled Tomatoes »

Your glut of garden tomatoes just found their new home: stirred into caramelized honey and a host of herbs and spices. Get the recipe for Summer Tomato and Herb Dip »

Tomato Salad with Green Beans and Basil