If now is not the time to herald the humble Tomato then we don't know when is! With many Heirloom varieties having soaked up the continental sunshine, you are spoilt for choice!

The giant Coeur de Boeuf tomatoes almost make a salad in themselves, cut into imperfect hunks and drizzled with EV Olive Oil, good sea salt, black pepper + good vinegar...

Our Top 7 varieties to know, now that they’re in season, and what to do with them...

1.     San Marzano; the famous plum tomatoes with flesh that is densely packed, meaty with hardly any seeds - so far the best for cooking into sauces and stews.

2.     Coeur de Boeuf; the giant, red, ribbed, heart-shaped and impressive all-round salad king with juicy fleshy + meatiness and sweet, ripe taste. Excellent for salads, thick slices for sandwiches and BBQ meats. It also roasts well alongside other vegetables.

3.     Marmande; the classic French variety - large, ribbed fruits, fantastic flesh with juicy taste - slice thinly, seasalt + EV Olive oil and you have the perfect summer side.

4.     Noire de Crimée; A little more tart than the Coeur de Boeuf with a more smoky, complex flavour, these dark purple-red to brown beauties really are special and fantastic for bruschetta. If you roast them the flavour intensifies adding extra depth.

5.     Pineapple Marmande; yellow ombre to orange-purple - just so beautiful and with juicy hint of the sweetest tropical fruit, I love to serve this on a big platter, carpaccio style, to show off their vibrant colours. Quite possible my favourite tomato right now.

6.     Cherry Vine; served on the vine these are sweet little summer additions to any lunch boards (either in yellow or red) delivering a pop of zesty tomato flavour but also great roasted on the vine on top of fish too.

7.     Datterino; tiny little plums tomatoes with the same uses as the regular cherry vine but less zesty and more full-flavoured and sweet making them excellent in salads. Originating in Sicily, Datterino in fact means Little Date on account of it’s sweetness.

Too many Toms??

If you somehow don't mange to tuck all that fleshy deliciousness away.. or have a glut of homegrowns or some spare tomatoes going very ripe, your kitchen should embrace this oppourtunity! There are many cool recipes to use up good tasting tomatoes; from simple fresh tomato sauce, to Pappa Al Pomodoro tuscan soup, and zesty mexican salsas all the way back to exquisite carpaccio salads that really focus on the taste of each variety.

This month's Shelford Deli Recipe uses up leftover ripe tomatoes with leftover bread - bonus! Try our classic Deli Panzanella recipe to make one of the freshest summer salads around! Click the link...