There’s no nicer sight when vege shopping than piles of summer red tomatoes.  At this time of the year they are warm, sweet and bursting with flavour, but tomatoes are also packed with vitamins, fibre, folic acid and potassium, making them a genuine superfood.  Enjoy slices on toast with a grind of rock salt, or mix slices with torn fresh basil leaves and slices of mozzarella. 

Pukekohe tomato grower and New Zealand young horticulturalist of the year Ben Smith, 29, has some top tips for cooking tomatoes this summer.

• To ripen, place in a brown paper bag with a ripe tomato and keep at room temperature and watch the magic happen.  Never ripen tomatoes in the fridge.
• Use plum tomatoes on the barbeque.  Their firm fresh flesh keeps them on the skewer, rather than falling between the hot bars.
• To intensify that tomato flavour, try oven or sun-drying them
• To choose the best tomatoes, look for the deep red varieties – the redder the tomato, the sweeter the fruit.