Canales, chef of Oliveto in Oakland, says markets will be tempting you with baskets of colorful, blazing tomatoes until November.

"I don't see an end to it," he says.

Every August, Oliveto hosts its Tomato Dinners, where every dish offered incorporates tomatoes in one form or another. On Aug. 18, in preparation for this year's gala, Canales and his fellow chefs tasted more than 40 types, noting the tomatoes' sweetness, acidity, size, color, aroma and texture.

While every style of tomato elicited its own adjectives -- "minerally" and "skunky" among them -- a pattern soon became apparent. The big, beautiful and colorful heirlooms were often the least interesting.

"The key to the heirlooms is to find ones that are not overblown with water," Canales says.

Some of the very best tomatoes are those that are dry-farmed, meaning watering is restricted in order to obtain smaller, more concentrated fruit.

In America, we tend to go for everything big, but when you're shelling out $4 a pound for a mealy tomato, Canales suggests you ask for a taste before you pay big bucks for a bomb.

One of Canales' favorite varieties this year is the medium-sized Purple Cherokee. With its high levels of sugar and acid, the Cherokee is a great candidate for eating straight or for cooking. At Oliveto, Canales cuts off their tops, studs the flesh with garlic cloves and roasts them whole with olive oil and sea salt for about 45 minutes. He tosses the resulting juice with spaghettini and tops the pasta with the roasted tomato, minus the skin. Now that's tomato sauce.

For a quick and fresh sauce, toss chopped tomatoes in hot garlic and oil, cook them until soft, and finish with a handful of basil. "It takes two minutes, tops," Canales says.

If you're after a more classic, long-cooked tomato sauce, it's best to stick with ripe Romas (those egg-shaped varieties). Raw, they can be insipid, but once concentrated, their flavor is exquisite.

Really sweet tomatoes require very little manipulation, Canales says. For the dinners, he took tiny, peeled Sungolds and dropped them whole -- like balls of honeydew -- in a chilled tomato broth (made from paddled and strained Black Krims). Another option with supersweet tomatoes is to use them as a contrasting element. Imagine getting a burst of fruity tomato with your bite of pancetta and arugula.

Even desserts for Oliveto's special dinners feature the cooked fruit. Surprisingly, pastry chef Julia Cookenboo seeks out a tomato with a fair amount of acid (think of apples -- the tart ones work best in pies and crisps), and then adds sugar.

"You get full expression of fruit that way" says Canales. "If you used a sweet tomato, it would just taste insipid."

The following recipes are from "Cooking by Hand," by Canales' boss, Paul Bertolli, executive chef and co-owner of Oliveto. The book, which celebrates the craft of cooking, features a 20-page section on the following "Twelve Ways of Looking at Tomatoes":

• Color
• Juice
• Essence
• Shape
• Sauce
• Conserva
• Complement
• Braise
• Container
• Condiment
• Side Dish
• Fruit

The chapter is a wealth of detailed information, but understanding tomatoes doesn't have to be a labor of love. As Canales says, all you need to enjoy a perfectly balanced slice is "a pile of sea salt and some good olive oil."

So, if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen and into the garden -- for a nice, ripe tomato.

Oliveto is at 5655 College Ave., Oakland. (510) 547-4381. Reach Times Food editor Nicholas Boer at (925) 943-8254 or nboer@cctimes.com.

Oliveto chef Paul Canales says to avoid big tomatoes when broiling. "They leak so much water," he says. "The best broilers are tight and small." The following passage is taken directly from "Cooking by Hand" by Paul Bertolli:

If there were to be an "all-purpose" tomato accompaniment, it would be the following simple treatment. Choose ripe, fleshy beefsteak varieties with good acidity and sturdy skin. Cut the tomatoes evenly in half perpendicular to the stem. Set the tomato halves on a baking sheet and salt and pepper their cut surfaces. When salting the tomato imagine you are salting not just its surface but the entire orb as the tomatoes should absorb the salt for 1 hour before cooking. After an hour, heat them for 20 minutes in a moderate oven or until they are hot all the way through but not slumping. Prepare a mixture of chopped fresh garlic, flat-leaf parsley and, if you wish, freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano moistened with a little fruity olive oil. Alternatively any fresh green herb such as basil, tarragon, mint, or fresh coriander may be used. Consider the main dish your tomatoes will accompany and select your herbs accordingly. For a clean, simple effect chop the herbs; if you want a more concentrated burst of flavor make an herb pesto in a mortar.

Turn the oven to broil and place the tomatoes on a low rack at least 4 to 5 inches below the oven flames or coils. When the tomatoes are very hot, apply the herbs liberally to the cut surface of each tomato and return them to the broiler momentarily. When the garlic is fragrant but not browned, remove the tomatoes. Allow the tomatoes to cool slightly. Serve with grilled meat, poultry or fish.

SFORMATINO OF GORGONZOLA
Makes 8 sformatini
Canales recommends using "beautiful red tomatoes" with high acid and a bright flavor for this recipe. "You need something to stand up to that cheese," he says. "If they are soft or sweet the tomato tastes sour and the cheese tastes wrong."
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
5 ounces aged Italian gorgonzola
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
7 egg yolks
2 egg whites
1 pound ripe, moderately acid tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon potato starch

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepot. Add the flour and stir over low heat. Add the milk all at once and whisk over moderate heat until the sauce thickens and is smooth without lumps. Crumble the gorgonzola into the warm sauce, stir to combine, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow the mixture to cool, then add the egg yolks. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold them into the sauce.

2. Butter 8 4-ounce ramekins on all sides and fill them to just under the brim with the cheese mixture. Place the sformatini in a baking dish and fill the dish with warm water. Bake for 1 hour or until the tops are gently browned and a probe comes out clean.

3. While the sformatini are cooking, cut the tomatoes into small, coarse dice. Place them in a pan and cook them quickly, only to soften them. Pass them immediately through the fine plate of a food mill to create a smooth, pourable puree. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Mix the potato starch with a little cold water to a thin slurry and whisk it into the hot tomato sauce. This will keep the tomato's liquid and pulp in emulsion and prevent it from separating at its pooled edges. Run the edge of a sharp paring knife around the sides of the puddings. Holding the ramekin in one hand, carefully turn the sformatino out onto your other hand, and then place it browned-side up on a warm plate. Spoon a little sauce around each portion.

-- From "Cooking by Hand," by Paul Bertolli

Per serving: 280 calories, 12 g protein, 14 g carbohydrates, 20 g fat, 235 mg cholesterol, 85 mg sodium, 1 g fiber. Calories from fat: 64 percent.

-- Times analysis

SPICED TOMATO PUDDING
Serves 8
Oliveto's pastry chef Julia Cookenboo treats tomatoes like any other fruit. With "warm spices" such as cinnamon and cloves, the tomatoes take on a whole new character.
4 large tomatoes, such as Brandywine, Red Slicer or Marvel Stripe
11/2 cups sugar, divided
11/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
2 eggs
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
ª cup currants
Lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving

1. Core the tomatoes, then plunge them into boiling water for 15 seconds to loosen the skins.

2. Peel the tomatoes then puree them in a food processor. Combine the puree and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a saucepan; bring to a boil, and reduce to 1 cup. Set aside.

3. Sift together the flour, salt, and spices. In a small cup, mix the baking soda and hot water. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and the remaining cup of sugar until smooth. Whisk in the butter, then the tomato puree and finally the soda and water. Add the sifted dry ingredients and mix until completely smooth. Fold in the walnuts and currants.

4. Heavily butter a 2-quart tube-shaped pudding mold. Pour the pudding batter into the mold, secure the top, and place it in a large pot. Make a bain-marie by pouring hot water around the mold to half the height of the mold. Cover the bain-marie with a tight fitting lid or aluminum foil. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and steam for approximately 11/2 hours. The pudding is done when a skewer stuck in the middle comes out clean. Remove the pudding from the pot, allow it to cool for 10 minutes, then invert it onto a plate and remove the mold. The outside of the pudding will be sticky and wet but it will dry out and become firm as it cools. Serve the pudding warm with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Per serving:
430 calories, 7 g protein, 58 g carbohydrates, 20 g fat, 85 mg cholesterol, 410 mg sodium, 2 g fiber. Calories from fat: 42 percent.