Eat Them Before They're Gone

Unsurprisingly, we’ve been writing a lot about tomatoes lately — like these 14 Things To Do With a Pint of Cherry Tomatoes. It’s the most obvious subject of late-summer food writing — literally low-hanging fruit — but with good reason: It’s hard to find a more perfectly useful ingredient than a tomato at peak. So at the risk of beating this topic to a pulp, I’ve got two more dishes for you because, well, tomatoes will still be spectacular for the next few weeks, so that’s what I’ll be eating until they’re gone.

First recipe for this week: My Fresh Tomato Bolognese that’s a streamlined version of the classic meat ragu — no three-hour simmering here — that uses fresh tomatoes instead of canned. Seems like a trivial difference, but it does change the vibe of the dish. As always, the tastier the tomatoes you’re using, the better this will be. I chop them up finely so that they break down quickly into sauce and retain some of their freshness. I’m also obsessed with fresh tomatoes cooked in butter, so I use 50/50 butter and olive oil; oh, and don’t skimp on the garlic. This strikes me as a really good dish to ride out the transition from summer to fall: fresh enough to eat right now, cozy enough to eat as the air begins to chill, and a wonderful way to use up late-season tomatoes —especially bruised ones. (Now that I think of it, this simple and incredible Beans and Tomatoes recipe ticks all the same boxes.)