Don't bother making this unless you have the most delicious, perfectly ripe and juicy tomatoes, as the dish depends almost exclusively on this one ingredient. Make it with pasta that will catch the delicious juices. Orecchiette seems to do it the best, but farfalle, fusilli, and penne work well, too.

Green tomatoes are simply unripe red tomatoes -- hence their lower sugar content and slightly sour taste. Charring makes them softer and easier to peel. To grill the shrimp, use 8-inch wooden skewers, which you'll find in many supermarkets and kitchenware stores.

Tuna and beans count selenium as antioxidant sources (choose a colorful bean to add anthocyanins). While the tomatoes have lycopene, sauteeing them with a little olive oil boosts this antioxidant's bioavailability.

Roasted garlic and tomatoes add a rich flavor to eggplant and pasta in this dish; eggplant is at its best from late summer into early fall.

This sauce tastes great over pasta, fish, or grilled chicken. It can be stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Serve this soup with garlic bread and vegetables for a simple, healthy dinner.

Serve this side dish with grilled shrimp, fish, or pork.

Plum tomato wedges join a baby arugula salad that features Mediterranean accents, including briny Kalamata olives and sweet green peppers. Choose tomatoes with deep-red coloring -- they have more lycopene than pale ones. Higher levels are also found in vine-ripened, garden-fresh tomatoes, compared with those that have been picked prematurely or are greenhouse-grown.

In-season ingredients (tomatoes, corn, and basil) are the heart of this lime-spiked dip; tofu -- low in saturated fat and cholesterol-free -- makes it creamy.

This hearty soup makes a satisfying meal at any time of year -- and the poached eggs are a valuable source of meatless protein.

Vegetables seldom make an appearance at breakfast time. But sweet tomatoes and fresh corn transform a standard brunch dish into a nutritional powerhouse.

Spanish for "little tomatoes," tomatillos are most delicious in their green state. Rinse them after you peel away the husks to remove any sticky coating.

Onions are cooked until tender and golden, then simmered in tomato, juice, wine, and vinegar.

Be sure to cook your orzo al dente; if overcooked, the tiny rice-shaped pasta becomes mushy.

Before grilling, soak toothpicks or skewers in water for 30 minutes to prevent them from burning. Butterflying the chicken -- splitting each piece in half and fanning it open like a book -- creates two layers. They make tasty "sandwiches" with tomato and basil.

Bring the beach to you with this summery seafood dish flavored with tomato and basil.

To ease mealtime preparation for this dish, cook the corn and beans early in the day, toss them with olive oil and smashed garlic, and keep them in the refrigerator.

Whole-wheat pasta has almost twice the amount of fiber of traditional semolina pasta. Here, it's paired with spring and summer produce for a delightful vegetarian meal.

Depending on your tolerance for spice, use either jalapenos or the more fiery serrano peppers in this recipe.

This quick-cooking, one-pan supper shaves precious minutes off prep time simply by substituting couscous for more familiar rice.

Yogurt imparts creaminess to a verdant basil soup without adding fat. Scoop mounds of tomato ice onto each serving for a summery garnish, and set the bowls over cracked ice.

Tomato sandwiches of all kinds are a staple in a summer kitchen. This version, packed with thickly sliced, juicy garden tomatoes, can be a bit messy to eat. To make it easier, cut each sandwich in half, without the top slice of bread, then cut the remaining bread slices in half and place them on top. Use thinly sliced bread and the higher-fat ingredients such as avocado sparingly.

Escape the heat with a refreshing bowl of gazpacho.

This version of bouillabaisse features white fish only. If you like, use a combination of fish and shellfish. If you're using shrimp, you can make a superb stock with the shrimp shells by roasting them in the oven, then deglazing the pan with a little white wine.

Spice up the traditional tomato and mozzarella salad with this antioxidant-rich dressing, or use it as a light sauce for firm white fish, grilled chicken breast, or pork chops.

Whole-wheat pita bread forms the crust for these wedges of yellow pepper and mozzarella pizza with homemade tomato sauce. Fresh basil ribbons top each low-fat pizza wedge.

Tomatoes -- even out-of-season ones -- take on an intense, almost sweet flavor when roasted, making this typically warm-weather side dish a year-round option.

Quicker and cooler to make, this deconstructed lasagna is also healthier. It's not baked under cheese and sauce, but tossed together with fresh tomatoes, a bit of ricotta cheese, and the rest of the ingredients just before serving.

You'll never eat store-bought tomato sauce again -- as long as you have vine-ripened tomatoes to make this easy side or sauce. Serve over pasta or as a juicy vegetable dish.

Mint, basil, and parsley give this dish's chimichurri sauce a bit of piquancy, while the roasted tomatoes make it juicy.

A piadina is a flatbread hailing from Italy's Romagna region. This version takes its inspiration from a margherita pizza, which is itself fashioned after the red, white, and green of the Italian flag.