How fruit and veg became the new barbecue superstars

As I write this, it’s raining, as it has been on and off for most of the summer; only a square of blue peeks through all the grey outside my window. The weather app promises sunshine tomorrow, but I’m not sure I believe it: after all, the headlines remind us that this is the most miserable UK summer in decades. Not that any of this will stop me heeding the siren call of the barbecue. We’re all used to sudden shifts – carrying an umbrella on sunny days and packing for picnics with a backup gazebo – and, somehow, this sort of weather makes us all much more adaptable.

You could be excused for assuming that a barbecue is all about meat, but at the Ottolenghi test kitchen, fruit and vegetables are the stars. Summer’s bounty has a natural sweetness that’s only intensified by a smoky char – the grill’s high heat caramelises their sugars without recourse to an excessive amount of oil. As a result, the flavours are cleaner and more pronounced, while the charring helps to create a delicious contrast between crisp exterior and tender interior. No wonder we’re so taken by small courgettes, neutral cheeses, tomatoes and leafy greens that have been branded with smart stripes.

Vegetables are also resilient characters. You can hurl aubergines, beetroots, potatoes and peppers straight on to the coals, underneath the grill itself, and almost entirely leave them be. With the occasional prod and turn, they’ll absorb all that heat without tasting burnt, even if the outside looks black as night. They are forgiving, too: barbecue them hot and hard early on, put them to one side while you go about getting everything else ready, then quickly reheat them. A fish, say, couldn’t ever take such treatment, but a cob of corn or some charred Tenderstem broccoli is as delicious after being reheated over the fire as it is fresh from the coals – especially if the former is covered in a green chilli-spiked miso mayonnaise and the latter tossed with salsa verde and roasted almonds.

Leafy greens such as chard, kale, hispi cabbage and even sturdy lettuce (think iceberg or romaine) are quick showstoppers. Nobody gathers to watch you chop leaves into bite-size pieces, but sear a whole iceberg on a hot grill and you both become stars of the show. Halve or quarter the greens, brush with extra-virgin olive oil, season generously, then grill on a medium-high heat until browned and crisp. Work quickly, though: you want to singe the outside leaves while leaving the inside cool and crisp. Top generously with nam prik or some sort of green chilli sauce, and away you go.

Summer fruits, too, take just as happily to the grill. If you want a quick dessert, peaches are the sweet secret. Halve and pit them, brush with oil, then grill cut side down and leave them undisturbed for four to five minutes, until those striking black lines appear. Flip them over, cook until tender and serve with a nice dollop of Greek yoghurt.

My team recently spent a rainy Thursday at NamaYasai farm near Lewes, in East Sussex. Husband-and-wife team Robin Williams and Ikuko Suzuki specialise in Japanese vegetables, and deliver them to restaurants in Brighton and London (including our own Rovi) within hours of harvest. Their farm grows more than 50 varieties of vegetables, among them edamame, shiso (a minty herb), nasu (baby aubergines) and daikon, and their goal is to give people the chance to taste these vegetables still wet with dew and just after harvest, something that wasn’t possible before NamaYasai. This is the very opposite of humble veg.

The OTK team spent the morning weeding the shishitou pepper beds – that’s a slender Japanese pepper not far removed from a padrón pepper. They spent two hours digging up various weeds – some of them spiky, others hard to budge – then placed them around the shishitou plants so the nutrients would return to the soil. Mind you, despite a group of 10 working for two hours solid, they made it only halfway up one shishitou bed out of three!

The team came back moved by the energy and love that farmers such as Robin and Ikuko put into their produce, and more determined than ever to celebrate them; they also returned with a recipe for shishitou peppers blasted on the barbecue and sprinkled with dukkah or smoked almonds.

Happily, even if you’re without a garden or a barbecue, a heavy ridged griddle pan and an open window will get almost exactly the same results. Stick to recipes that translate well both indoors and out and that make the most of the season’s gifts, such as Gail Simmons’ grilled lettuce and halloumi salad with herby sherry vinaigrette or Ben Allen’s grilled chestnut mushrooms with habanero, lemon and rocket pesto.

So, while British summertime often limits the number of barbecue-able evenings each year – does anyone really trust those sunshine emojis on your phone that promise a warmer August? – you may as well try your luck. Start with a solid core: good-quality coals, enough heat, space on the grill to keep your cooking and holding areas happy. Then cross your fingers. And don’t let a few drops of rain stop you.

Go Ko | I popped into Koya Ko in east London, to try the Ottolenghi guest udon that are on for all of August: Koya’s bouncy noodles covered in a silky crab sauce and topped with white crab, crunchy cucumber, grated tomatoes, a fiery ginger harissa oil and a drizzle of creamy black tahini. While “slurp” might not be the most elegant word, I wholeheartedly admit that I slurped the bowl dry.

Hungry like the Wolves | We recently hosted two supper clubs at Wolves Lane, a community garden in north London. Both were family-style feasts showcasing the best of the garden’s harvest, with all profits going towards its new community spaces. Wolves Lane is also home to our own kitchen garden, where our grower Max tends to the beds of fruit and veg that are sent to Rovi each week. It’s a special place, and they’re always looking for volunteers. Check out the Wolves Lane website for more information about how you, too, can get involved.

The flame game | Helen Graves’ new book, BBQ Days, BBQ Nights: Barbecue Recipes for Year-Round Feasting, is full of creative, flame-cooked veg recipes that are boldly flavoured and easy to achieve – I’ve got my eye on her “very moreish charred peas”, the burnt shallots, butter beans and salsa macha, and the barbecue banana split with miso-sesame crunch. Graves’ creative ideas and attention to every aspect of the barbecue (including those all-essential drinks and nibbles) make this book a summer essential.