A tomato sandwich that’s very tomato

This recipe riffs on pan con tomate, rubbing garlicky toasts with a halved tomato.

View in browser|nytimes.com August 2, 2024 Melissa Clark's tomato sandwiches. Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. It's time for tomato sandwiches By Sam Sifton Good morning. The tomatoes are perfect right now where I stay, dense with juice, sweet with just a hint of acidity, super robust. They take to salt nicely. They call for herbs, sometimes for cheese. I can use a half dozen or more over the course of the weekend, and doing so makes me feel as if I live in Southern California, driving to buy them in a restored Cabriolet (white, with white interior, vanity plates reading TOM8TO). They tell me that summer will last forever. I'll believe that for at least the next six weeks. Tomatoes are great sliced and laid out on a platter, under dabs of burrata and torn basil leaves. You could use them in Hetty Lui McKinnon's tomato, basil and olive pasta salad, in which the brininess of the olives offsets the sweetness of the fruit. They're awesome in gazpacho. But I like them best in a sandwich. In Melissa Clark's tomato sandwich (above), particularly. She riffs on the classic Italian preparation of pan con tomate, rubbing garlicky toasts with a halved tomato so that the juices seep into the bread, and then applying mayonnaise, slivered onion, more tomato and sometimes a few slices of bacon so she's left with a tower of a meal, a mess to eat at the apex of the season. Featured Recipe Tomato Sandwiches View Recipe → Variations on the theme: You could make pimento cheese and tomato sandwiches, using the spread in place of mayonnaise. You could cook soft-shell crabs in butter and swap them for the bacon. You could put tomatoes on top of Cheddar toasts. Or you could make like my friend Gentile and keep it simple: tomatoes on white bread with mayonnaise and salt, to eat in the car on a long drive somewhere, Little Feat's "Willin'" on the 8-track. No? You're not into tomatoes? Tomatoes are not your thing? That's just fine. Zucchini's looking good right now, too. Maybe grilled with halloumi and salsa verde? Or sliced into salad with basil, mint and feta? I love it smashed with chickpeas and peanuts. And I wouldn't sneeze at charred zucchini with crispy chicken thighs, either. Alternatively, you can head over to New York Times Cooking and browse until inspiration strikes. You need a subscription to do that, it's true. Subscriptions are important. They make this whole enterprise possible. Please, if you haven't already, would you consider subscribing today? Thanks. Do reach out for help if you run into issues with the technology. (It happens!) We're at cookingcare@nytimes.com, and someone will get back to you. Or, if you'd like to register a complaint or deliver a compliment, you can write to me: foodeditor@nytimes.com. I can't respond to every letter. But I read every one I get. Now, it's a considerable distance from anything to do with summer produce or the scent of a peach pie cooling on the counter, but I finally caught up with the third season of "Hacks" on Max, and I'm glad I did. Comedy's not easy! Watch that or, if you've watched it already, read my colleague Alexis Soloski's interview with the showrunners about the spin at the end. (N.B., it contains spoilers galore.) The Irish writer Edna O'Brien died last week at 93. Here's her obituary in The Times. And here's a 2009 short story of hers that ran in The New Yorker, "Old Wounds." For ESPN, Ryan Hockensmith wrote about Emma Carey, who went skydiving for the first time in 2013, jumping out of a helicopter 14,000 feet above a Swiss cow pasture. The parachutes tangled and her instructor, attached to her back, was knocked out cold. She slammed into the ground at something between 45 and 60 miles per hour. She lived. She's thriving. It's a remarkable tale. Finally, here's Johnny Blue Skies with "Mint Tea" to take you into the weekend. Listen to that while you're slicing tomatoes. I'll see you on Sunday. IN THIS NEWSLETTER Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Pimento Cheese and Tomato Sandwiches By Kia Damon 25 minutes Makes 8 sandwiches Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff. Grilled Halloumi and Zucchini With Salsa Verde By Lidey Heuck 65 minutes  Makes 4 to 6 servings David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Zucchini Salad With Basil, Mint and Feta By David Tanis 15 minutes Makes 4 to 6 servings Chris Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Frances Boswell. Smashed Zucchini With Chickpeas and Peanuts By Ali Slagle 15 minutes Makes 4 servings Mark Weinberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Crispy Chicken Thighs With Charred Zucchini By Ham El-Waylly 1 hour Makes 4 servings Nico Schinco for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Tomato Cheddar Toasts By Ali Slagle 10 minutes Makes 4 toasts Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. Perfect Peach Pie By Sam Sifton 2 hours Makes 6 to 8 servings Sign up for the Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter Fresh dinner ideas for busy people who want something great to eat, with NYT Cooking recipes sent to you weekly. Get it in your inbox Sign up for The Veggie newsletter Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties. Get it in your inbox Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Cooking from The New York Times. To stop receiving Cooking, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. 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