You say tomato, we say dilemma

Get your sharpest knives ready, because the tomato crop, at first just a trickle, is becoming a flood. Small tomatoes, big tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, yellow tomatoes – all sorts of tomatoes, so many that coping may pose a problem. Call it a delicious dilemma.

Here are 10 quick ideas for producing summer on a plate, fast ways to make the most of vine-ripened tomatoes. Recipes follow, but consider these simpler ideas:

1. Sauté or broil thick slices of tomato and serve topped with a poached, fried or scrambled egg. A dash of hot sauce couldn’t hurt.

2. Or, turn the same idea into lunch. Make a sandwich with two slices of whole-grain bread, a little mayonnaise, sliced hard-cooked egg and tomato. Don’t forget the salt and pepper.

3. Create a fantastic tomato salad. On a platter, layer thin slices of tomatoes. Spoon on your favorite vinaigrette, either homemade or from the bottle. Give the tomatoes 10 or 15 minutes to soak up the dressing.

4. Don’t ignore the obvious: the tomato and mozzarella cheese combo. On a platter, alternate layers of tomato slices and fresh mozzarella slices, drizzling on balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil. Add a generous helping of freshly ground pepper and thinly sliced basil leaves. Serve and watch it disappear.

5. Or try a twist on guacamole. Cut a few tomatoes into bite-size or smaller chunks; do the same with an avocado or two. Dice a small sweet onion. Combine, then add lime juice, olive oil, a bit of sugar, salt, pepper and cumin. Toss and serve.

6. Make a side dish or great lunch with some quick-cooking couscous. Prepare according to package directions, then mix with sliced scallions, diced tomato and drained canned chickpeas. Add some olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and it’s done.

7. Consider this for tonight’s vegetable. Oil a shallow baking dish. Cover the bottom of the dish with alternating slices of zucchini and tomato. Brush generously with olive oil mixed with dried oregano and basil. Add salt and freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 400-degree oven until cooked through.

8. Facing a bowl full of tomatoes dangerously on the edge of becoming overripe? Roast them in a slow oven with oil, salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and cover with oil. They’ll keep for up to a week; warm when hungry.

9. Make your everyday vinaigrette taste great by adding some chopped tomatoes.

10. In the end, don’t forget that sometimes the simplest preparation is the best. Take a vine-ripened tomato, slice it in half, sprinkle with salt and take a bite.

Fresh Tomato and Ricotta Tart

With the prepared sheets, this tart takes only 10 minutes to assemble. Wonderfully versatile, the tart can serve as an hors d’oeuvre, appetizer, lunch entree or even a side dish. Look for really red tomatoes: The more vibrant the color, the more attractive the tart.

Two 9- to 10-inch-square sheets of puff pastry (about 1 pound)

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg

2 large tomatoes (about 1/2 pound each), cut in half and sliced 1/4-inch thick

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and place a puff pastry sheet on each piece of parchment. Using a small knife, form a 1-inch “frame” around the edge of the pastry by cutting a row of diagonal marks in the dough. Do not cut all the way through. Use a fork to prick the area inside the frame every 2 or 3 inches. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, 1/2 cup of Parmesan and the egg. Add pepper and nutmeg to taste and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

Spread half of the ricotta mixture over the pastry, keeping it inside the frame. Cover the ricotta with the slices of one tomato, overlapping the slices slightly, like shingles on a roof. Sprinkle half of the remaining Parmesan over the tomatoes. Repeat with the remaining ricotta mixture, tomato slices and Parmesan. Bake until the pastry has puffed and browned, about 20 minutes. Let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm.

Yield: 12 appetizer servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 265 calories, 18 grams fat (5 grams saturated, 61 percent fat calories), 7 grams protein, 20 grams carbohydrate, 27 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 185 milligrams sodium.

Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Pasta Salad

This salad employs one of the best combos in summer food: tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Even better, it takes about 30 minutes to make, from start to finish. It’s always good to use the freshest ingredients, but here it’s essential. Fresh mozzarella can now be bought in almost every supermarket. And choose the ripest tomatoes you can find: I like plum tomatoes, because they’re easy to peel and seed, but you can use your favorites.

8 ounces rotini (corkscrew) or any similarly shaped pasta

Salt

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch dice

3/4 pound plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch dice (see note)

10 to 12 medium or large basil leaves, coarsely chopped

2 scallions, white and tender green parts, finely chopped

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, or more to taste

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until it is done, but still a little firm to the bite. Drain and rinse with cold water until the pasta is completely cool. Let it drain for a few minutes and transfer to a large bowl. Add the mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, scallions, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste, adding more vinegar if desired. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Note: To peel plum tomatoes, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Have ready a bowl of ice water. Remove the stem from the tomato and cut an “X” in its bottom. Place in the boiling water for 10 or 15 seconds – no longer. Use a slotted spoon to quickly transfer to the ice water. The skin should simply slip off.

Yield: 4 to 6 main-course servings

Approximate nutrition per serving (based on 6): 332 calories, 16 grams fat (5 grams saturated, 43 percent fat calories), 15 grams protein, 33 grams carbohydrate, 24 milligrams cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber, 345 milligrams sodium.

Chicken Scallopine with Roasted Cherry Tomato and Onion Salsa

Here’s a twist on what to do with all those cherry tomatoes. Instead of adding them to a salad, roast them to bring out the flavor and turn them into a warm salsa. You can buy chicken already thin-sliced for scallopine, or you can slice boneless, skinless chicken breast halves. This recipe would also work well with turkey cutlets.

2 pints stemmed cherry tomatoes, large ones cut into quarters, smaller ones cut in half

1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 pounds thin-sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts (eight 1/4-inch slices)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss together the cherry tomatoes, onion and oil; add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a shallow baking dish or roasting pan, about 9 by 11 inches. Bake until the tomatoes are soft and the mixture bubbles, 50 to 60 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.

About 15 minutes before the tomatoes are finished, start cooking the chicken. Sprinkle the scallopine with salt and pepper to taste. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil and butter. When the butter has melted and the oil mixture is hot, working in batches, add enough chicken cutlets to fit in the pan without crowding. Cook until lightly browned on one side, 2 to 3 minutes, then turn the pieces over and cook another 2 to 3 minutes or until cooked through. Set aside and keep warm.

Divide the scallopine among individual plates. Spoon 1/4 of the roasted tomato mixture down the center of each portion. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 324 calories, 22 grams fat (5 grams saturated, 61 percent fat calories), 27 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrate, 72 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 167 milligrams sodium.