Gourmet

A topping of buttery whole-wheat bread crumbs and hazelnuts creates a toasty counterpoint to baked thick-sliced tomatoes. What prevents it from being too rich, though, is the accent of thyme—lemon thyme in particular. With its small green leaves edged in yellow, the herb is easy to spot at the farmers market. Still not sure? Take a sniff. Lemon thyme's brisk, citrusy scent is a real eye-opener.

Using beefsteak or other juicy tomatoes makes for a light, delicately nuanced soup that works in hot weather. Plum tomatoes will result in a more intensely flavored soup that's good for the chilly fall months. It's impossible to play favorites: They're both wonderful.

Pile a few choice toppings on store-bought pizza crust and throw it on the grill for a magnificent—and easy—vegetarian dinner for a crowd.

This sandwich gets a toasty power-up from your grill pan. Melted mozzarella bolsters chicken cutlets, and its gooey richness is offset by the fiery spark of cherry peppers. A tomato-basil salad rounds out the meal.

A semifreddo is an Italian soft-frozen custard mousse. Grappa, which is floral and just a little edgy, bumps the musky, intoxicating sweetness of the melon up a notch.

The height of tomato season often coincides with some of summer's most blistering days. Defeat the heat with a fresh side dish of green beans cloaked in a cool, tomatoey sauce inspired by gazpacho.

Everyone's free to be a kid again with one of these wickedly good frozen treats in hand. Chewy blondie cookies bookend a thick layer of lemony ice cream (store-bought vanilla bumped up with lemon juice and zest) ribboned with a speedy blueberry compote.

Radicchio adds streaks of scarlet and a pleasant bitterness to the usual Greek-salad suspects. A simple lemon and olive-oil dressing keeps things light and fresh.

What's integral here is a very thin biscuit crust instead of one made of pastry dough. The inspiration is twofold: the tomato pie brought to us in August 1992 by the late novelist and food writer Laurie Colwin and James Beard's recipe for a quiche-like tomato cheese pie, which appeared in his American Cookery (1972). It's fun to imagine inviting the pair of them for lunch and serving this, along with a crunchy green salad and a big, beautiful glass pitcher of iced tea.

Americans have learned to appreciate plain whole-milk "Greek-style" yogurt in all its thick, rich, creamy glory, and those attributes are played up here. Buttermilk and lemon juice bolster its pleasing tartness, and light corn syrup adds body.

You yield to temptation at the farmers market and stagger home with pounds and pounds of tomatoes—and now they are all burstingly ripe at the same time. Don't panic, and don't put them in the refrigerator either. They'll turn flavorless and cottony. Instead, slow-roast them until they become smooth and almost meaty in texture. After six to eight hours in a low oven, they're ideal for bruschetta and for tossing with pasta.

This ice cream forgoes eggs, which can mask the flavor of fresh berries. The result is an intensely-flavored dessert, so make sure you're getting the best berries you can find. (Our strawberry buying guide can help.)

Food editor Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez, who created this menu, takes the Mexican tradition of sprinkling corn on the cob with cotija cheese and dried chile and turns it on its head. By substituting crumbled feta and mint, she gives the summer standby a Mediterranean slant. Cutting the ears into smaller sections makes them easier to coat with the buttery cheese and herb mixture—and way more fun to eat.

Sure, go ahead and cook your favorite sausages, but be sure to use every iota of their flavor: Reheat the skillet and work some pork-based magic on a seasonal array of onion, fennel, tomatoes, and corn.

Mushrooms spiked with the flavors of India add complexity and exoticism to beefy, well-marbled rib eye. They also go with virtually any other cut of steak.

The French custom of serving radishes with sweet butter and sea salt is a lesson in simplicity; there's something so satisfying about a lick of creamy butter against the snap of peppery radish. Here, anchovy paste adds a singular savor to the butter, but the ease of the tradition remains. It's worth seeking out small radishes like the French Breakfast variety; if you can find only big ones, just halve them.

Mexican aguas frescas, or "fresh waters," made from all kinds of fresh fruit, flowers, or herbs, are a great way to beat the heat. This cantaloupe version gets additional vim from a splash of club soda.

This kuchen would be terrific made with all types of stone fruit, so feel free to substitute any of your summertime favorites for the plums.

Pita rounds spring to life after just a couple of minutes on a hot grill: The dimpled surfaces of the flatbread crisp up in a nice contrast with their soft interiors (be sure to buy the pocketless kind of pita, which is fluffier than pita that is meant to be split and stuffed). A shake of crunchy kosher salt and a brush of garlicky olive oil flecked with oregano knocks them out of the park.