‘Tis the season for tomatoes

Spring is a time of fresh, seasonal ingredients every budding cook should take advantage of.

Vegetables alone can make a meal or work as an appetizer or side for any dish you’re preparing.

Today you’re going to learn great ways to prepare zucchini and tomato.

Zucchini is a vegetable that is usually at its peak in April, making it both less expensive than it usually is and better tasting than the out-of-season produce.

There are a few ways of cooking zucchini that can turn out really well, but one of my favorites is to grill it. Start out by cutting the vegetable into either long strips from end to end or small quarter-inch circles.

Then drizzle some olive oil over the zucchini and add generous amounts of salt and pepper.

Preheat your grill on high and lower the flame to medium, then just toss on the vegetables ““ letting them cook for two to four minutes on each side.

They should come out with great grill marks, and should be firm yet tender to eat.

If you have a great Italian dressing or an Asian-inspired marinade you picked up at the store, marinating the zucchini before you cook it can add a lot of additional flavor.

You can cook a variety of vegetables in this way such as squash, egg plant, peppers or really anything else you can think of.

Tomato season has also just begun, and I’ve already been noticing that they have been looking and tasting better from the store. Since I love tomatoes I don’t mind eating them year-round ““ so this dish can really be used any season.

The natural sweetness and acidity of tomatoes are brought out when they are prepared simply ““ no fancy marinades or cooking techniques, thank you.

One of my favorite ways to eat them is to slice them into circles and just add some salt and pepper. But there are other ways too.

One of my favorite spring and summertime dishes is a tomato, mozzarella and basil salad.

Buy fresh tomatoes, a fresh ball of mozzarella and fresh basil ““ never use dried for this classic Italian dish.

Basil is also in season right now, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding fresh basil at the grocery store.

Slice the tomatoes into quarter-inch-thick circles and slice the mozzarella about half as thin as the tomatoes. Then wash, dry and separate all of the basil into individual leaves.

You can buy as many of these ingredients as you want, but two large tomatoes should be enough to serve as a salad for three or four people.

On a large, circular plate layer the ingredients around the rim, stacking with one slice of tomato, followed by one slice of mozzarella and a basil leaf. Continue layering the ingredients until the salad forms a circle around the edge of the plate.

Now all you have to do is make a classic vinaigrette dressing to pour over the gourmet salad.

The traditional way of making vinaigrette is to combine one part balsamic vinegar with three parts extra-virgin olive oil.

You can make as much as you need, and if you make extra you can save the rest for a few days in the fridge to use on another salad.

Combine the two ingredients in a cup and stir them very well. Before the oil and vinegar start to separate, drizzle the dressing slowly over the tomato salad.

Be careful to not use too much, because you want the natural flavors of the ingredients to come out as much as possible.

If you want the freshest and most inexpensive ingredients for this dish I recommend stopping by the Westwood Farmers Market instead of the grocery store. It’s located at the end of Davis Avenue on the Veterans Affairs grounds near campus, and is open every Thursday from 1 to 7 p.m.

Other produce that is in season right now includes: broccoli, carrots, spinach, artichokes and lemons.

If you like grilling unusual things, e-mail Pesce at [email protected].