Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of five articles on food profiles.

The weather is turning colder and snow will be falling soon, and what fits the comforting mood of winter better than warm soups or stews? The variety in flavors of dishes that can be made with tomatoes — from hearty and rich to light and savory — make them a versatile and essential ingredient in any kitchen.

Tomatoes are used in almost every type of cuisine, ranging from French, Italian, Pakistani and more. They can be used in soups, sauces, and stews, roasted with kebabs or chicken, or used in any type of salad. No matter how you decide to use them, tomatoes are sure to add loud, unique flavors to your dish.

Although tomatoes can be used to create so many different flavors, every tomato-based dish shares a few of the same ingredients. Knowing the food profile of tomatoes can make your life so much easier because you won’t even need to glance back at any recipe to know which ingredients work best. Of course you’ll still need to refer to a recipe for the steps in making the dish, but you’ll already know what goes in to make the tomato flavor stronger and more pungent.

Some might argue “everything we make with tomato will taste the same if it has the same ingredient.” Well, not exactly. The different processes used in the recipe will make your dish unique, such as pureeing the tomatoes for a sauce or blanching them for a salad. When we look a simple everyday tomato dishes — for instance tomato soup, arrabbiata sauce, chili, marinara — all these recipes share a common set of ingredients:

• Oregano
• Basil
• Red pepper flakes
• Olive oil
• Cayenne pepper
• Onions
• Ground beef

Some people may say those ingredients are mostly used with tomatoes when referring to Italian food and pasta sauces, but that isn’t quite true. Even in a complex and extraordinary dish such as shakshuka, a delicious Israeli dish of eggs poached in tomato sauce, common ingredients are shared. Here are some ingredients used in shakshuka. Note how similar they are to other tomato recipes we have seen.

• Bell Pepper
• Cayenne/chili powder
• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Red pepper flakes
• Parsley

Here’s a recipe for tomato bisque

Tomato Bisque

• 2 (28 ounce) cans whole plum tomatoes
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon oregano leaves
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 carrots
• 1 onion
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• Salt and black pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a 9 by 13 inch pan, add two cans of whole plum tomatoes. Using a potato masher, mash the tomatoes and drain out all the liquids and preservatives from the tray.
3. Add peeled the garlic cloves, salt, and black pepper into the pan and add only 1/4 cup of the olive oil; save the other 1/4 for later. Bake pan for 45 minutes to roast tomatoes until the garlic has softened, stirring occasionally.
4. In a stockpot over medium heat, sauté diced onions and carrots and cook until slightly brown. This is known as a miripoix — a french term for the base of the soup. The vegetables you start off with in the process are usually onions and carrots.
5. Add tomato paste, oregano, and rosemary and stir. Add broth and grilled tomato mixture, then cover the pan, and let the soup simmer for 5-10 minutes over medium heat. The simmering will allow the flavors from the herbs to develop.
6. In a standing blender or with an immersion/hand blender, purée the soup until smooth and chunky, but not for too long. Add salt and black pepper to the bisque to taste. Ladle and serve.

Yields 6 to 7 bowls.