Plum Tomato

This Sunday sauce yields twice what you'll need, but it freezes beautifully; bank the extra and cash it in on another night.

Fry up bacon, tomatoes, and eggs all in the same skillet for this upgrade on the classic breakfast sandwich.

Skillet smoking is a chef's trick that's easy to do at home.

There's really no other word for these burgers except: YUM. The flavoring and the satisfaction of a meal you can wrap your hands around is unmatched.

This is an ode to Spain, a culture totally infatuated with the glories of asparagus. Here the green spears are paired with a classic Basque tomato-pepper relish called pipérade, simple poached eggs, and grits. One of these things has no place in Spain, but you can take the boy out of Georgia but you...well, you know.

At Rioja, half of the bacon is replaced with ground fatback, a step that makes this excellent burger even better.

You've probably never seen smoked swordfish before, but you probably weren't looking. Find it at Mexican, Spanish, or other specialty grocers, or at a well-stocked fish market.

Charring the vegetables adds bittersweet depth; serve leftovers on scrambled eggs.

Authentic barbacoa is a daylong event involving a whole animal and an underground fire pit. This take is easier and totally delicious.

I rarely rave about my own recipes, but this is one I can just go on and on about. It is the definition of freshness with its sweet-and-sour late-summer flavors, and it is also an utter delight to look at. But the most incredible thing about it is that it uses a few ingredients that I have been lovingly cooking with for many years, and believed I knew everything there was to know about, yet had never thought of mixing them in such a way. That is, until I traveled to Istanbul and came across a similar combination of fresh tomatoes and pomegranate seeds in a famous local kebab restaurant called Hamdi, right by the Spice Bazaar. It was a proper light-bulb moment when I realized how the two types of sweetness-the sharp, almost bitter sweetness of pomegranate and the savory, sunny sweetness of tomato-can complement each other so gloriously. I use four types of tomato here to make the salad more interesting visually and in flavor. You can easily use fewer, just as long as they are ripe and sweet.

Use a very sharp cheddar to make this—it's the difference between pimiento cheese and cheesy mayonnaise.

Pasta, lush tomatoes, and a pool of ricotta lend this dish all the flavor of a lasagne—without the heaviness.

Any combination of flame-kissed veggies brushed and tossed with this easy vinaigrette makes a deliciously smoky side.

Using mature arugula leaves instead of the baby variety will make for a more peppery salsa. For a nice variation, try it with fresh basil and/or parsley.

Mograbiah, a large variety of couscous made from semolina, is common throughout the Arab world. It is also known as pearl or giant couscous and, in North Africa, as berkukis. It is more difficult to find than ordinary couscous. We buy it from Green Valley, the luscious Middle Eastern supermarket just off London's Edgware Road. If you can't get hold of it, try to find the Sardinian equivalent, fregola, which is stocked by some Italian delis. If all this leads you nowhere, use couscous only (increasing the quantity below up to 1 pound / 500 g). You will lose out a little on the interesting combination of textures but still enjoy the explosive mix of flavors. The dried tomatoes are a great pantry ingredient. Keep them immersed in oil if you want them to last a long time. The caramelized onion is also handy to have in the fridge. It will keep there for at least five days and makes a great addition to omelets, quiches, bruschetta, pasta—anything, really.

Throw a pouch filled with clams on the grill when the fire's hot, and enjoy them while you cook the rest of the meal. Timing can vary a bit, depending on the size and stubbornness of the clams and the heat of the fire. You can tell if the shells have opened by feeling the top of the package with tongs or a spatula. If you open the package and see that some clams have not opened, reseal and return to the fire for a few minutes. If there are a few duds that refuse to open after 15 minutes or so, discard them.

Packing these puppies full of veggies gives them a wallop of low-cal flavor, leaving plenty of room for queso.

This roasted vegetable duo represents an unconventional combination of vibrant colors, rich aromatics, and sensual tastes. The soups are served as equal partners in one bowl—try each one separately, but be sure to stir them together to get the full experience.