Tomato

If you're in the midst of rent week, this polenta is a pretty solid cheap dinner idea.

The only trick to this uncooked sauce is finding good canned tomatoes.

Lightly browning the beans and aromatics for a few minutes before you add the tomatoes gives a lot of depth of flavor to the sauce.

Charring then steaming the peppers ensures that the romesco will reach a saucy, juicy consistency.

Stuffed cabbage is great for a crowd, but if you find yourself with a lot of leftovers, it freezes well too.

The nostalgic ground meat filling has obvious upgrades; the charred tomato salsa should be in heavy rotation.

You can serve these flatbreads as is or wrapped around a filling.

Tired of spinach in your smoothie? This recipe is the perfect way to eat something green in the morning.

This chorizo recipe is hearty and substantial on its own, but if you want to put an egg on it, go right ahead.

To keep lobsters alive in your fridge for up to one day, pack in damp newspaper. You can substitute eight frozen tails; sear per recipe method, then use the meat from four in place of the knuckles and claws, and split the others for serving.

If you don’t happen to have or particularly enjoy pastrami, bacon or pancetta would be a delicious substitute for this minestrone recipe. Check out step-by-step photos here.

For a hearty vegetarian version of this pasta recipe, use squash, mushrooms, or eggplants in place of shrimp.

The ingredient list for a curry can be a little daunting with all those spices, but the technique isn’t very far from a pasta sauce: you just toast the whole spices and then move on to a sort of sofrito of onion, garlic, and ginger. From that flavor base, you add tomatoes and whatever veggies you desire. At the end, a quick chutney, really just a rough chopped blend of herbs and coconut, gives the stew a bright pop of flavor (the way a few torn basil leaves make that tomato sauce sing).

The smoky sauce and mix of spices in this meatball recipe complement lamb perfectly. It would be great with ground beef too, if that’s more your thing.

These are extra saucy and a little sweet like the original SpaghettiOs, but with grown-up flavors all around.

You don’t need hours to simmer tomato sauce. This recipe shows you how to make an excellent one in 30 minutes, with 5 ingredients, in 1 pan, with very little effort.

Not the biggest fan of lamb? This hearty, soul-warming ravioli recipe will be equally successful if you use beef short ribs instead. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to shape and fill ravioli.

A flavorful tomato sauce that’s a cinch to make and rock shrimp that come already peeled mean a weeknight dinner recipe has never been so easy—or delicious.

The chicken should be falling-apart tender; if it starts to shred when you plate it, that’s a good sign!

Not a big fan of chorizo? This chili recipe can also be made with chicken, turkey, or Italian sweet or spicy sausage.

Adding fresh puréed tomato at the end of this long-simmered pork ragù lends this bowl of deliciousness acidic brightness along with depth. Unbeatable. This recipe is from Oberlin, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

Even so-so tomatoes will become sweet and deliciously concentrated after this treatment. 

Make any modifications that suit you and the preferences of your eaters: Onions in place of shallots; carrots for fennel; add garlic; omit the cayenne; a splash of cream instead of butter, as you wish.

If you've got a can of tomatoes, a jar of spicy peperoncini, and a hunk of Parm in your fridge, you're halfway to a satisfying pasta dinner.