15 Genius Tomato Recipes, Because It's the Best Time of Year

With Genius Recipes correspondent Kristen off for a few months trying to raise a genius newborn, we’re revisiting the column’s Greatest Hits with brand-new videos—and hearing from a few special surprise guests. Wish her luck! (And keep sending those tips.)

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Behold: 15 genius things we can do with tomatoes (besides this). There's a no-knead pizza, a spicy soup or two, and a glorious, saucy casserole known as scalloped tomatoes.

Many more are pastas (but really, are you mad about that?)—and we'll start with the most genius of them all:

Who knew that three ingredients plus barely any active work equaled the most nuanced, buttery tomato sauce out there? Don't forget bread on the side, for dipping.

Pasta brings its own sauce to the party when it cooks at the same time as cherry tomatoes, onions, garlic, and a few other friends.

Tomatoes (and tomato paste) deepen the flavor of the eggplant sauce that tops this fresh corn polenta.

A little garlic and basil—plus bread, for sopping—make fresh tomatoes their best selves.

Ripe tomatoes, spaghetti, garlic, basil, and butter join forces for a speedy weeknight pasta that tastes anything but simple.

This genius ratatouille is equally perfect hot or cold, plated nicely or eaten straight from the baking dish (you know, moments after your guests leave).

This iconic no-knead dough gets topped with fresh, peeled Roma tomatoes—which, yes, you get to squeeze with your hands till they're broken down to a sauce.

Ina's creamy sauce stars canned tomatoes, and has a clever secret for getting them deeply jammy: oven-roasting.

Good luck finding a speedier—or more delicious—baked pasta.

A ripe tomato gets roasted below a hot broiler until blistered, then adds lots of body to this smoky soup.

Cornbread makes an appearance in this tomatoey, panzanella-like salad—oh, and the whole thing gets topped with grilled sausage.

This spicy tomato soup is vegan, requires just five ingredients (psst: you probably already have them), and comes together in just about the time it'll take to decide your next Netflix binge-watch.

Leave it to Marcella to make the list twice, this time with a tomatoey braised celery you're going to want to top with a crispy fried egg.

This pasta is pretty much a highlight reel of all the best sauces, smooshed together: tomato, carbonara, and asparagus.

Meet the life-changing ragu you can make completely ahead—like, up to two full days beforehand.

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Got a genius recipe to share—from a classic cookbook, an online source, or anywhere, really? Perhaps something perfect for beginners? Please send it Kristen’s way (and tell her what’s so smart about it) at [email protected]