Plum Tomato

If you're going to take the time to make fresh pasta, you want to know the dish is worth your while—and these ravioli definitely fit the bill. They're even better with the bubbling sauce of cream, fresh plum tomatoes, and parmesan cheese.

Broiling tomatoes and onions concentrates their flavor in this spicy salsa that's good any time of the year.

This simple roasting method brings deep, bright flavor to winter tomatoes.

These delicious ravioli come from the hot Buenos Aires restaurant Social Paraiso. Freezing the Brie for 20 minutes will make trimming the rind easier.

If available, add the lobsters' coral pink roe to the sauce — it makes this dish even more luxurious.

A long turn in the oven gives these juicy plum tomatoes good caramelization, lending sweetness to their robust flavor.

Chef Michael Schlow of Boston's Via Matta created this dish. Serve with Schlow's Crunchy Green Bean Salad.

Shrimp transforms a Middle Eastern salad into a light yet satisfying main course.

All of the ingredients that make gazpacho so yummy — tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and bell peppers — turn up in this main-course salad.

Fruit tart desserts often steal the spotlight in summer, but this easy savory treat showcases plum tomatoes in their prime with such simple grace that you'll forget about sweets for the moment.

The way most people make Italian sausage and peppers is to smother the sausage in lots of sautéed peppers. It's good, but I expand on the theme with plump, juicy tomatoes and a big handful of basil. And turkey sausage adds a healthy twist to this traditional dish. Try it spooned over pasta for a truly Italian experience.

Chef Anne-Sophie Pic serves this chutney, topped with a skewer of rabbit liver and kidney, alongside the Savory Rosemary Shortbreads . We recommend pairing it with steak, lamb, pork, or a full-flavored fish such as salmon, bluefish, or mackerel.

The enchiladas and the calabacitas each take around 30 minutes to prepare, so if you're making both, give your Self about an hour. Round out your dinner: Add 1/2 cup mixed greens with 2 tbsp lowfat Italian dressing.

Lasagna is comfort food — a real PMS soother. But it's also loaded with symptom-fighting calcium.

This hearty — and heart-healthy — pasta comes together in a flash. Mangia! Puttanesca may sound like an Italian specialty to slave over, but don't be intimidated — you can make this sauce in minutes. Michael Collins, chef and co-owner of the Green Emporium in Colrain, Massachusetts, designed this dish, which marries old-world flavor with modern-day convenience. Its healthy ingredients — lycopene-loaded tomatoes, heart-smart olive oil, exotic olives, and capers — are as easy to keep on hand as that emergency jar of sauce.

This recipe makes enough sauce for 6 to 7 meals (for 4 people) if you figure on 1 pint of sauce per pound of pasta. We used a food processor to save time, and also added a few ingredients to Edith Guerino's original recipe. Be sure to use very ripe tomatoes to get the best flavor. If your tomatoes lack sweetness, the sugar will help balance their acidity.

Made without stock, this light vegetable soup (which was passed down from Elena's mother) is not only easy to prepare but amazingly flavorful. It really benefits from the final addition of egg and parmesan.