Remember they're a fruit: Tomatoes have sweet side, too

We lump tomatoes with other summer vegetables, but let's not forget that tomatoes are a fruit.

Fruits lend themselves to sweet preparations, so why are we surprised when chefs turn to these garden gems for desserts and other after-dinner treats?

According to "The Flavor Bible" by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg (2008, Little Brown), tomatoes pair well with such favorite fruits as melons, pineapple, raspberries, strawberries and mango, just as well as they partner with bell peppers, cucumbers and garlic.

In Washington, Va., for example, chef Gerard Pangaud creates a confit stuffed into hollowed tomatoes. For the filling, the chef cuts apple, pear, dried apricot and fresh ginger into pieces just large enough to withstand the heat of caramelized brown sugar. Citrus zest, three kinds of nuts, raisins, clove, anise seed, cinnamon and vanilla bean scrapings complete the mixture so that "when I close my eyes, I'm in Morocco," the chef says.

By inverting the tomatoes before scooping them out from the bottom with a melon baller, Pangaud retains their rounded shapes, a cheffy aspect of presentation that comes into play once the orbs are stuffed to overflowing and seated in a pan coated with more caramelized brown sugar and butter.

If you think that sounds good, try the Tomato-Peach-Plum tart, one of the runners-up in The Washington Post's Top Tomato contest, or this Spiced Green Tomato Cake. Tomatoes may be ripe and hanging heavy on the vine now, but this is a great way to use green tomatoes before the frost gets them.

• The Washington Post contributed to this report.