There’s something to be said about roasting, it’s a method of cooking that’s been with us for ages and renders an almost perfect texture and taste at the end. It’s relevant to meats, seafood, vegetables and fruit. Roasting meats on high temperatures pulls the fat out and leaves you with a tender, juicy interior encased by a tasty crusted exterior. Roasting meats on a low heat for a long period of time results in an extremely tender and juicy end result. Roasting vegetables removes the water in the vegetables, concentrates the flavour and caramelises the sugar in the veggies to yield a tender and sweet vegetable. The same applies to fruit but the beauty of roasting fruit is the succulent juicy and tender fruit you get to enjoy at the end.

There are no hard and fast rules to roasting you can experiment and tailor it to your own personal liking.

Roasted beet and onion salad with balsamic vinaigrette

4 medium sized beets, washed

4 medium sized onions

1 large sprig fresh French thyme

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 350F.

Peel onions, lightly score at top.

Place beets and onions onto some heavy-duty aluminium foil.

Combine pepper, balsamic and olive oil, drizzle onto beets and onions, top with sprig of thyme and wrap securely.

Bake until tender about 60 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool.

Peel beets and slice, arrange on platter topped with onions.

Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette, and serve warm.

Balsamic vinaigrette

1 oz balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic minced

3 ozs olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine vinegar with garlic, whisk in olive oil, season with salt and black pepper.

Drizzle onto beets.

Makes about one third of a cup.

Roasted pineapple with brown sugar

1 small pineapple, peeled cored and cut into chunks

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup dark rum (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place pineapple in a shallow buttered baking dish.

Sprinkle on brown sugar and rum if using.

Roast uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes until pineapple is tender and a bit charred on the edges.

Grilled mango with lime and coriander

2 tbs coconut oil

1 tbs fresh lime juice

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground coriander

4 firm but ripe Julie mangoes

Preheat grill to medium.

Combine one tbs oil, lime, salt and coriander

Cut the faces off the mangoes, then score to the skin in a diamond pattern.

Turn inside out.

Brush with remaining oil and grill until slightly charred.

Remove to a platter and drizzle with spice mixture.

Garnish with freshly chopped chadon beni.

Marinated roasted vegetable salad

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1 medium eggplant

1 sweet red pepper

1 onion, peeled