Playing with fire: Gill Meller’s barbecue recipes

Spicy lamb kofta, fennel-flavoured fish, ember-roasted onions: cooking over fire makes everything taste better in the summer

Making a fire and cooking something good to eat on it feels like one of the most natural ways to cook. You don’t have to be out in the wilds either, a campfire at the bottom of the garden or a barbecue in the backyard can bring the same magical, slightly smoky, sense of satisfaction.

Don’t limit yourself to meat. Fresh fish and shellfish have a wonderful affinity with burning wood and smoke; everything that’s good about them gets better. Sustainable fish such as mackerel and sardines are also made for the fire. Their oily flesh means they’re fairly forgiving, so you won’t have to worry about them drying out. What’s more, their punchy, spirited flavour means these fish can hold their own amid the heavy weight of whirling smoke and searing char of the embers. It’s possible to create completely new tastes and textures with vegetables, delicate sweet notes, crunchy, crisp, silky, soft qualities, complex depths of savoury.