tomatoes triumphant
plus: the classroom wishlist project
Monday, August 10, 2026
Good afternoon!
Wedding food is becoming part of the entertainment [NYT, gift link]
Talking to the Columbia Journalism Review about 20 years of Smitten Kitchen
I wait all summer for peak tomato season, the point when even people who are historically very bad at growing tomatoes (it’s me) find themselves with more tomatoes that they can go through in a week (it’s also me, but humblebragging) and start hunting for more recipes to tuck them into. This is my moment, my momentum, waving my hand frantically in class and hoping to be called upon, because boy do I have some ideas to reel off: roasted with chiles, onion, and garlic into a salsa, fanned gorgeously in a tart that makes you dream about the French countryside, blended into sauces that let the tomatoes shine, and so much more: raw, stuffed, dried, I could keep going — and I will. I am here to support our tomato season hopes and dreams.
Plus, we’re now in our second week of the 2026 Smitten Kitchen Classroom Wishlist Project, in which we try to help teachers everything what they need to set their classrooms up for success. Teachers are already sending photos of gifts and writing thank you notes from all that you’ve helped with so far. If you’re looking to jump in, all of the details are below, and on this page (including how to add a classroom if your school starts later). Thank you for being part of it.
Cheers,
Deb
The Smitten Kitchen Classroom Wishlist Project 2026 kicked off last week! In the US, a tremendous number of teachers don’t get the funding they need to set their classrooms up for success. Most will end up paying out of their own pockets to buy educational materials, which is all wrong. I’ve asked teachers to send me their wishlists in hopes that we can help clear as many as possible, as we have the last four summers.
If you cannot figure out where to start, let me help: I recommend picking a school in your area, or perhaps where you grew up, or search the descriptions for classrooms that might focus on something particularly meaningful to you. There is no purchase too small to unquestionably make a teacher’s (and their students’) day. Plus, buying crayons, pencils, and books that help kids learn and succeed feels really good. 🖍️📚🍎📓✏️ Thank you for helping out! [Project information. Direct link to spreadsheet.]
I’ve written three cookbooks and one audiobook and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Not sure which one to check out first? Take a look at the recipe index and see which collection jumps out at you most. Looking for recipes that fit this week’s theme? Try the tomato scallion shortcakes with whipped goat cheese or the seared halibut with gazpacho salsa and tomato vinaigrette in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, the roasted tomato picnic sandwich in Smitten Kitchen Every Day, or the tomato salad with cottage cheese and bagel seeds, the farro salad with roasted tomatoes, or the tomato and corn cobbler in Smitten Kitchen Keepers.
three-ingredient summertime salsa
My favorite summer salsa is also the easiest, just fresh tomatoes, jalapeños, and garlic (plus optional onion) broiled or grilled until charred and blended with seasoning.
tomato salad with crushed croutons
Perfect summer tomatoes need little to make them amazing, but I don’t think anyone has ever placed tomatoes near garlicky, crunchy bread and regretted what happened in the middle.
green bean and cherry tomato salad
If you ever need a reminder of how little seasonal vegetables need to shine, Alice Waters is the place to go, because this looks like a happy bowl of summer to me.
rice-stuffed tomatoes
Don’t let tomato season pass without making these, doubly so if you’ve only had terrible ones to date. The rice absorbs the most clear-noted pure tomato sauce you’ll ever scoop onto a fork; the ingredient list couldn’t be less complicated. It’s total summer dinner bliss.
naked tomato sauce
My favorite tomato sauce is made from tomatoes and almost nothing else. Not onions or carrots or celery. No tomato paste, no slow-roasted garlic, no tomato variety so rare, you need to grow it yourself. Just tomatoes, cooked until saucy, finished with a quickly-steeped basil and garlic oil. [Video below!]
mediterranean baked feta with tomatoes
This in a foil packet on a grill + some hearty olive oil-brushed bread, grilled and rubbed with a clove of garlic + a glass of rosé with a couple ice cubes clinking around in it (not sorry at all) = the perfect kind of summer afternoon.
mathilde's tomato tart
A gorgeous peak-summer tomato tart that tastes the way I imagine a vacation in France would feel right now, from Sanaë Lemoine’s novel, The Margot Affair. It deserves to be eaten outside with a big green salad, glass of wine, and the kind of friends who drop everything when they hear you’re making dinner.
tomato and corn pie
Among iconic summer dishes, this tomato and corn pie is the undisputed champion. Every bite screams summer. Gourmet updated the Laurie Colwin and James Beard classic in 2009 with market-fresh corn and a biscuit-like crust and the result is so good, it will be your new summer habit.
slow-roasted tomatoes
There is no higher tomato calling than slow-roasting, which basically turns them into tangy tomato candy. They’re dreamy with pasta, in omelettes, salads, and on sandwiches, or you can just eat them straight. Because: candy.
one-pan farro with tomatoes
Dinner tonight? I think you should make my One-Pan Farro, the recipe that converts all of the farro skeptics. It’s easy (everything cooks at once, all together, with ingredients you probably already have around), quick, vegetarian, and yet tastes anything but austere. [Video below!]
naked tomato sauce
one-pan farro with tomatoes
The Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser is a lower-walled enameled cast-iron Dutch oven that works as well as a deep sauté pan as it does a soup pot, roasting pan, or even casserole dish that perfectly fits a pasta bake. It’s the ideal size and usability (dishwasher safe!) for everyday cooking. Not a week has gone by in the 14 years I’ve had mine when I don’t cook in it at least three times, so when it was no longer sold in U.S. stores, I asked Staub — a French cast-iron manufacturer originally from Alsace; you can watch me tour the forge/factory here! — if they would partner with me to bring it back, because I knew you’ll fall in love with the pan too. We launched the Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser in spring 2024. The Braiser is now sold exclusively at Williams-Sonoma and available in eight gorgeous new colors! The newest two — a classy off-white (pardon, French Crème) and a soft pink (Pink Peony, which you know I sing to the tune of Pink Peony Club) — launched just last month.
Cranberry (bright red)
Grenadine (deep red)
Sage (light green)
Basil (dark green)
La Mer (dark blue-green)
Sapphire (dark blue)
(New!) French Crème (off-white) ✨
(New!) Pink Peony (soft pink) ✨
The Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser Recipe Starter Pack: Oh, you did get a new braiser? I’m so happy for you. Here are a few recipes you can kick off your cooking with!
Braiser: An entire category of recipes on smittenkitchen.com
My “I Dream Of Paris” Menu for the French Crème launch: Dijon Roast Chicken, French Onion Soup for a Crowd, and a Perfect Apple Tarte Tatin
Baked Ziti with Meatballs and Ricotta (Williams-Sonoma, Video)
Apple Butterscotch Crisp (Zwilling, Video)
Braised Chickpeas with Kale and Burrata (Zwilling)
shop my favorites
Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more that you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most. This isn’t just an Amazon storefront. For each item, I attempt to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.
See you next week!
