Roast with Chickpeas, Grilled with Labneh, Baked with Coconut - Nigel Slater's Tomato Recipes

I sometimes think I grow tomatoes just for their smell. As you pass the sparse plants on the steps, it's almost impossible not to rub a leaf or two between your index finger and thumb. They offer a herbaceous smell, a little spicy on the peduncle, with – to my nose at least – hints of thyme and marjoram. Unlike sweet peas or narcissus, other favorite "home" smells, your nose won't go numb if you sniffle too often.

There's plenty of good fruit if you look around. The best are often those with an orange or green flash rather than a perfect, monotonous scarlet. Give them a sniff. It's not a foolproof trick to detect a tomato worth eating, but more reliable than looking alone. These fruits with a snap of sharpness, a hint of spiciness and bite are the ones I eat neat, maybe with a little olive oil or a timeless vinaigrette of black olives and basil. These are the ones I cut into small cubes – a more delicate version of a chopped salad – and toss with crispy gnocchi or garlic croutons still warm and salty from the pan. These are the biggest fruits I tend to bake or grill.

They say a fridge can dull the flavor of a tomato, but what more refreshing than a squirt of golden juice from a refrigerator - cold cherry tomato? I keep a box over there to snack on. Smarties for adults. Salt brings out their flavor, which is why anchovies and parmesan are tomato's best friends, but you don't always need them.

The pepper leaves - arugula, basil and watercress - all work their magic. This is especially true if you can find clusters of thick-stemmed, glossy-leaved watercress rather than the tangle of hair-thin stems and tiny leaves in a bag that we now see so often.

< p class="dcr- 3jlghf">While yellow tomatoes, even those grown at home, can be a bit flabby and soft-fleshed, those with green shoulders or emerald and orange stripes can be weed at home. cat for those who cherish a sweet and sour note. I cook them under a hot grill, their cut edges sprinkled with pepper, thyme leaves and olive oil. If they are too sweet, shake the bottle of red wine or sherry vinegar over them - it's a treat.

Tomato salad with olives and anchovies

For a decade or more I grew tomatoes on the sunny side of the back garden, then when I rearranged the layout they moved to spacious pots on the kitchen steps.

The best are those whose skins have been exposed to the heat of the sun, even if being left out in the elements means that it will be somewhat pitted and gnarled. It doesn't matter what they look like, what matters is the intensity of their flavor.

When I find tomatoes good enough to eat raw, I cut them up into thick slices and season with olive oil and black pepper. There will also be basil and sometimes a few glasses of red wine vinegar. But more than anything, there will be olives. Tomatoes love the salty tang of olives as much as anchovies.

In the case of this salad, one of those just begging to be eaten out, I include both.< /p>

Serves 6 as a side dish10 black olives, 8 anchovy fillets, 2 cc salted or bottled capers parsley a large handful basil leaves 12 garlic 1 small clover vinegar 1 tbsp olive oil 3 tbsp Dijon mustard 1 tbsp tomatoes 1kg

Finely chop the black olives . Wipe the anchovy fillets with paper towel to remove excess oil or salt and chop finely. Mix the olives, anchovies and capers.

Finely chop the parsley leaves and basil, then stir into the olive mixture.

Peel and crush the garlic into a paste using a pestle and mortar and a pinch of sea salt flakes. In the garlic paste, stir in the vinegar and leave to stand for 10 minutes. This will soften the spiciness of the garlic. Using a fork or small whisk, stir in the olive oil, mustard and a little black pepper (you won't need any salt unless you're not using the anchovies) .

Stir the vinaigrette into the parsley and olive mixture. Cut the tomatoes into thin slices – I like mine about ½cm thick, but that's up to you – then place them, overlapping them slightly, on a large platter. Pour the vinaigrette over it, leave to rest for a good 15 minutes in a cool place, then serve.

Grilled tomatoes, cucumber and labneh beetroot