Vine ’n’dine

“Tomatoes are synonymous with summer,” says Jason Bangerter, executive chef at Langdon Hall, near Cambridge, Ont., where the harvest season starts in late July and wanes at the end of August. “There are so many varieties of tomatoes that it’s possible to look at them in new ways.” Think outside the salad bowl and use tomatoes in red gazpacho with watermelon, or in golden gazpacho with vegetables like yellow peppers. A rustic tomato sauce with shallots, garlic and fresh basil can be spooned over grilled fish. Bangerter also dehydrates tomato plant leaves and turns them into powder for green pasta. He says sweet tomatoes also make great frozen sorbet.

For best flavour, he suggests allowing tomatoes to ripen on the vine before picking, then storing them at room temperature— not in the fridge, which diminishes taste and texture.