Ginny Grant has your summer sorted, with dishes bursting with bold tastes and the best of summer’s crops.

Once the weather starts to warm up I find it hard to resist the lures of the nightshade family: eggplants, tomatoes and brightly coloured capsicums. I feel like a magpie as each glossy item finds its way into my bag along with those other summer staples of crunchy cucumber and zucchini. I’m constantly drawn to them and they tend to make up the bulk of my summer meals, mostly because of their sheer versatility.

Summer food should be easy, with big, bold flavours; that’s not to say that it doesn’t take some time, but most of that should be done ahead or with minimal effort. I’ve often said that I seem to use the oven more in summer than in winter, if only because I’m wanting to roast stone fruits, eggplants or capsicums, and if I have the oven on for something then why not throw in something else that I’ll use for a meal at a later date? And if it really is too hot to put the oven on, then that is when the hooded barbecue comes into its own.