Cherry Tomato

This recipe was developed by Julie Robles, longtime Lucques cook, then souschef, then chef de cuisine. It’s one of those magical recipes in which you combine a few simple ingredients and end up with an unexpectedly dramatic result. It’s a foolproof recipe, but, tasting it, you’d never know how easy it is to make. As long as you have a blender (it doesn’t work as well in a food processor) and really great tomatoes, this refreshing gazpacho is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

When I was growing up, my mom and sister were obsessed with lobster. My father and I just never got it. But on both their birthdays, my father would take us all to the chosen lobster spot of the moment. While Jessica and my mom happily cracked their way through dinner, hardly glancing up from their plates, Dad and I would glumly saw through our landlubber specials. I admit I felt a little envious watching Jessica and Mom picking apart their matching dinners, knowing that I would never have that lobster bond with my mother. Normally, my mother prefers her lobster plain and simple—steamed and served with lemon and drawn butter. But one Mother’s Day, I took liberty, hoping to entice her with this rendition of a classic chopped salad. It worked; while we’re still on opposite sides of the table at the lobster shack, we both get excited about this salad.

As soon we were old enough to fly alone, my sister and I would travel back east for a few weeks every summer to visit our grandmother in Connecticut. Our late-summer arrival always coincided with the peak of her beefsteak tomato crop. Every evening, we’d venture out to the backyard to pick tomatoes for that night’s salad. Still warm from the sun, those juicy red slices, sprinkled with salt, left an indelible impression on me. My next life-changing tomato experience was at Al Forno, in Providence, Rhode Island. The owners, George Germon and Johanne Killeen, would drive 35 miles to a tiny town called Little Compton to pick up crates and crates of big red beefsteak tomatoes from their favorite farmer. Slicing the tomatoes to order, they served them with red onion, salt, basil, oil, and vinegar. Again, so simple, yet one of the best things I’d ever tasted. I didn’t discover heirloom tomatoes until a few years later, when I got a job at Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Amazed by the odd shapes and variety of colors, from white to orange to almost black, I sampled every variety I could get my hands on. At Lucques, our regular customers start asking for this heirloom salad in early June. It’s been on the menu every year since we opened and seems to signal that summer is finally here.

Barbecue sauce, especially a spicy one, may seem an unusual pairing for fish, but the richness of salmon not only stands up to the heat, it actually is enhanced by the flavor of the sauce.

This broth is so good I could drink it by the bowlful. Be sure to serve this with steamed sticky rice. Even better: When I have leftover sticky rice, I press it into small cubes and fry them until crisp and golden brown. You can find konbu, bonito, miso, and yuzu at a Japanese grocery or a well-stocked Asian market.

Any fish on the bone works here—whole red snapper or salmon steaks would also be good choices—but I especially love just-caught sea bass. Set on a bed of fennel and smothered with tart-sweet Meyer lemons and cherry tomatoes, the fish absorbs all those flavors while it steam-roasts in dry white wine. I love the distinctive citrus aroma of Meyer lemons, but you can use regular lemons here, too.

This pasta dish pairs creamy with crunchy, tart with sweet. Summer string beans also offer a little crunch to balance the juiciness of the tomatoes. I especially like using orange Sunbursts from my garden.

It’s the surprising combination of sweet, tart, creamy, and crunchy additions that makes me crave this summery soup. This gazpacho is all about the garnishes.

Tangy goat cheese makes a perfect salad dressing for wax beans (haricots verts work well here, too). To balance the creamy cheese, I toss the sweet tomatoes with a bright, acidic vinaigrette. Together, they make an amazing summer salad.

One of the most fun things about traveling is finding food inspiration and ideas. I’m most drawn to simple preparations with creative twists. In Israel, I loved the myriad varieties of salads, which are served morning, noon, and night. I could spend a month in Israel just studying the salads. On a recent trip, my family’s last lunch before heading to the airport was at a lovely little café in the suburbs of Tel Aviv. One of the dishes we enjoyed was a mixture of sweet and white potatoes on a bed of greens. Nothing fancy, but it looked great and tasted even better. Once home, I made my copycat version of the salad, with two additions: a diced avocado mixed into the greens, and a topping of pumpkin seeds. It may look fancy, but it’s very easy to make. The pleasing presentation makes it a good salad to impress company, as well as to bring to potlucks.

Here’s a nearly standard tabouleh recipe with a couple of interesting twists. Quinoa makes it fluffier and lighter than the traditional bulgur (not to mention even more nutritious), and pine nuts give it a rich flavor.

Like the previous recipe, the combination of grains and beans in this salad makes it an ideal centerpiece for a meal.

A feast of color and texture, this salad is, in a word, dazzling. As the centerpiece of a meal, it’s a pleasure to make and serve, ready in minutes.

Serving tofu and veggies kebab-style is festive, but firing up the grill, marinating the ingredients, and soaking the bamboo skewers (so they don’t ignite) can be time-consuming. And most people don’t own a stovetop grill. Here’s a shortcut method that circumvents all those steps, made right on an ordinary griddle.

This bread is also delicious garnished with fresh marjoram or oregano; coarsely chop one-quarter cup herbs, then sprinkle over baked bread.

It’s not so important which vegetables you use in these colorful, nutritious tarts—rather, that there is a seasonal bounty. Here, eggplant, red onion, zucchini, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, kale, and red bell peppers fill cornmeal crusts, but you could easily use green beans, corn, or mushrooms. The crust is light and crisp, with less butter than many pastry doughs. To make free-form versions, spoon filling onto center of each dough round, and fold the edges inward. Serve each tartlet with a dollop of fresh ricotta cheese, if desired. Add a green salad to balance out a healthy lunch.

This pie combines the ease of a galette—no need to attach a top crust or crimp any edges—with the convenience of oven-to-table serving. Before the tender dough is fitted in the pie plate, it is cut into flaps around the edge for neat, even folding over the filling. When the pie emerges from the oven, the tomatoes will be near bursting, their juices mingling with the cheeses, zucchini, and basil. It just might remind you of another delicious savory pie: pizza.

Grilling gives these balls a nice smoky flavor, but if you’re short on time or energy, you can also just warm them in the oven or microwave them, if you prefer. The salad comes together quickly if you use canned beans, and you should always have a stash of our apple cider vinaigrette in the fridge (it can keep for three weeks).

While these tomatoes are especially delicious in this salad, make a double batch so you can toss them with roasted veggies, steamed green beans, or sautéed spinach, or spread them as a condiment on your next sandwich. These can be made ahead and kept tightly covered in the fridge for up to one week.

When it’s summer, especially in August, when the zucchini, corn, and tomatoes are at their peak, we love to fire up the grill for this salad any chance we get. This is a great recipe for entertaining because you can make it ahead, which means you have more time to hang out with your guests.