Cheese

Not all tomato recipes require the fruit to be ripe. In fact, you’ll want unripe green tomatoes for this one (rather than green-hued heirlooms, which tend to be too delicate to grill).

This raw tomato sauce gets texture from zucchini and body from toasted nuts that are blended into the base. You can sub almonds for hazelnuts.

Ripe heirloom tomatoes and sharp cheddar cheese are a match made in heaven in this savory pie.

You know those heirloom tomatoes you bought over the weekend and didn’t use that are now looking a little too soft? They’re exactly the tomatoes you want for this easy, end-of-summer soup.

Typical Mexican enchiladas arrive rolled up and stuffed, but at my favorite enchilada street stand—the inspiration for this recipe—they're stacked in a messy, luxurious pile, with separate individual layers of corn tortillas, fresh cilantro and onion, green enchilada sauce, shredded cheese and chicken. The whole thing is topped with a blanket of crema and more cheese. It's almost like a deconstructed lasagna. The dish is enough to make you fall deeply in love with Mexico City—particularly when the corn tortillas are homemade, and the green sauce is prepared with a slow-simmering pot of fresh chicken stock.

Bitter and bossy seeks warm and sweet: This robust dressing is capable of standing up to—and slightly softening—acerbic greens like dandelion or arugula. (Maybe it's the bacon...)

Roasted poblano chiles and cream are a classic—and irresistible—combination. It's worth roasting more than you need—the peeled and seeded chiles freeze well and thaw quickly. Sliced and seared zucchini or chayote squash is a terrific addition to the rajas mixture.

Spicy Mexican chorizo adds richness to tinga, a tomatoey shredded-chicken tostada topping.

In the state of Chiapas, these are made with chewy dried shrimp and called tostadas turulas. Use the most flavorful shrimp and best tomatoes you can find.