Our five-star tomato tart, a summer must-make

The best use we've found for firm, not-perfect tomatoes.

View in browser|nytimes.com August 9, 2024 Alexa Weibel's roasted tomato tart with ricotta and pesto. Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. A five-star tomato tart for three-star tomatoes By Tejal Rao Good morning. This is Tejal, filling in for Sam. It's August in Los Angeles, which means that if I can get my hands on a truly perfect tomato, I will slice it, salt it, flood it with olive oil and eat it just the way it is. I could do this all summer long but, let's be real, I won't. Just because it's late summer doesn't mean that every single tomato I come across is ideal for eating this way — and that's OK! Bless the squishy tomatoes, the dimpled, heavy-bottomed, almost sappy tomatoes, ideal for seasoning an extra-juicy panzanella. Bless the firm, unyielding and tight-skinned tomatoes, too, which will slump and sweeten when they're baked in a tomato tart. If you find yourself with firm tomatoes, layer slices over puff pastry that you've smeared with a little crème fraîche and bake for about half an hour — that's all it takes to bring out the best in them. Cover your tart with ricotta, pesto and extra basil leaves. It's a luxurious weekend breakfast or a beautiful savory treat to bring over to someone's house or carry along to a picnic (in this case, pack the ricotta and pesto separately to finish the dish on site). Or, have it with a simple green salad, and it's dinner. Featured Recipe Roasted Tomato Tart With Ricotta and Pesto View Recipe → What else do I feel like making? After reading Korsha Wilson's excellent article about the Coleman-Richards reunion in Fayette County, Ky., I bookmarked Isaiah Screetch's showstopping West African spice cake to make over the weekend. I can already imagine the kitchen perfumed with calabash nutmeg, cloves, ataiko, cinnamon, ginger and cayenne, and I have a plastic tub of tamarind paste in the fridge, ready to go. For the rest of the week, when I want something sweet and spicy on the fly, it's nice to know that I'm always 15 minutes away from this watermelon chaat. (If you need advice on how to pick a great watermelon, read this article to learn how to listen for it!) Head to New York Times Cooking to browse more recipes — you'll need a subscription to get them all. Please reach out for help if you run into any issues and someone will get back to you: cookingcare@nytimes.com. In case you missed it, I loved this article by Andrew Keh and Weiyi Cai about Yang Xiao Chu, a tiny Chinese restaurant in the 15th arrondissement of Paris that became an unofficial hangout for Olympic table tennis players, coaches and fans. There have been countless delightful images to come out of the events this year, but my favorite by far is a super cheesy promotional image of Giorgia Villa, silver-medal-winning Italian Olympic gymnast, with a giant wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano. From the department of summer reading: I so enjoyed Sara B. Franklin's marvelous book about Judith Jones, the Knopf editor who worked with Julia Child, Madhur Jaffrey and Edna Lewis, but also John Updike and Sylvia Plath. I'm typing at the kitchen table, my husband is playing Karen Dalton's dreamy, melancholic "Little Bit of Rain" and it almost feels as if I'm on a porch somewhere, just before a thunderstorm rolls in. See you Sunday! IN THIS NEWSLETTER Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times Panzanella By Melissa Clark 45 minutes Makes 6 servings Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Simple Summer Salad With Feta By Yasmin Fahr 20 minutes Makes 6 to 8 servings Chris Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. Watermelon Chaat Recipe from Malika Ameen Adapted by Tejal Rao 15 minutes, plus chilling Makes 4 to 6 servings Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Spice Cake With Tamarind Recipe from Isaiah Screetch Adapted by Korsha Wilson 1 hour 10 minutes, plus cooling and 2 hours' chilling Makes 1 (8-inch) cake (8 to 10 servings) Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini. Basic Pesto By Florence Fabricant 15 minutes Makes 2 cups 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. 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