“C’est là où commence l’histoire de la tomate.”

Indian summer is a strange sort of moment in time… it’s the season that, when growing up, discerned the summer I had on Long Island — days melting into one another until, suddenly, we woke up and it was September — from the “summer” that came after. Indian summer, the “summer” of orientation and pre-season at boarding school, was the quiet, lazy moment when my friends slowly began to arrive for different pre-class activities, and we reveled in afternoons and evenings free of homework, when the sun still set after last sign-in.

Summer was brief, if it came at all this year. A couple of days at the end of August were all we had after an unseasonably gray July. But September this year brought a welcome, if stifling, Indian summer to Paris, and with it, the bounty of the summer’s tomatoes.

“C’est là où commence l’histoire de la tomate,” my favorite market vendor tells a woman standing next to me. He catches me listening and acknowledges me with the suggestion of a wink, and when I, too, select a kilo of cornue des Andes tomatoes, I revel in the idea that these, named for Peru and the beginning of the tomato’s story and history, may be the last of the long season’s bounty.

The tomatoes are perfect, ripe and meaty and complex. They’re perfect with just a bit of salt, but they make a more substantial meal combined with creamy, giant Lima beans.

I believe I’m done buying cornue des Andes… It is October, after all, and I’m making way for mushrooms and potimarron. But with the last of the season’s fresh tomatoes, simple globes bought in bags of two and three kilos, I make roasted tomato sauce, topped with rounds of goat’s cheese, and savor the last taste of Indian summer.

Tomato and Giant Lima Bean Salad

If you don’t have giant lima beans in your area (they’re usually available in Latin markets), cannellini beans work well too.

1 kilo (a bit more than 2 pounds) fresh tomatoes
400 g (1/2 pound) canned or jarred giant lima beans
a generous pinch or two of sea salt
1 Tbsp. dried basil or 6-7 leaves fresh basil
1 Tbsp. good extra virgin olive oil

Cut the tomatoes into bite-sized chunks and place them in a large glass bowl. Drain and rinse the lima beans and add them to the bowl with the salt. Chiffonade the fresh basil if using: place the leaves one on top of the other, and then roll them into a tight cylinder. Slice them into thin ribbons and sprinkle into the salad. Add the olive oil and toss to coat. Leave at room temperature at least an hour and up to four hours. Toss before serving.

Roasted Tomato Sauce and Goat Cheese Dip

2 kilos fresh tomatoes
a generous pinch or two of salt
3 cloves garlic
two 1-ounce rounds goat cheese

Dice the tomatoes, removing any blemishes and stems. Place in a glass baking dish. Add salt and toss to distribute.

Peel the garlic cloves and bury them amongst the tomatoes. They should be entirely covered without touching the baking dish.

Roast low and slow — 225 F or 105 C — for about an hour, tossing occasionally, until the tomatoes have reduced down by about half. There will still be quite a lot of juice in the pan.

Using a blender or stick blender, purée about half the tomatoes with the cloves of garlic. Stir back into the remaining sauce in the baking dish and top with goat cheese rounds.

To serve, broil until the cheese is melted. Eat with baguette and friends who don’t mind garlic breath.