Summer: vegetables on a tray
Courgettes, peppers, aubergines and new potatoes are roasted in large pieces with oil and herbs. Eat them hot, or add them to a salad the next day.
Seasonal
Seasonal ideas
Every season has its own oven. In summer it's for quick roast vegetables, in autumn for apple and pumpkin pies, in winter for bread and sweet buns, and for celebrations it cooks one big dish for the whole family.
The best seasonal dishes are made from whatever is plentiful at the time: ripe vegetables in summer, apples in autumn, time and warmth in winter.
An idea makes it into this section if it's easiest to cook in a particular season and needs nothing more than an ordinary oven.
The oven through the seasons
Four reasons to switch on the oven over the year.
Autumn: apples and pumpkin
Open apple pies, pumpkin wedges with honey and cinnamon, bakes made with pumpkin purée. Firm autumn apples hold their shape and don't release too much juice.
Winter: bread and sweet buns
The cold season is the time for yeast dough. The oven warms the kitchen, and weekend buns and bread become a family habit.
Pizza dough (in Russian)
The festive table
A meatloaf, a big bake or a pie for the whole family: one dish in the oven leaves your hands free for salads and laying the table.
Meatloaf (in Russian)
What to roast in summer
- Courgettes and aubergines — in rounds or batons, brushed with oil so they don't dry out.
- Sweet peppers — whole, until the skin has dark patches, then peeled and cut into strips.
- New potatoes — in their skins, halved and tossed with oil and rosemary.
- Summer berries — in an open pie or under a thin crumble of flour, sugar and butter.
An autumn larder for pies
- Firm, sweet-sharp apples that don't fall apart when baked.
- Pumpkin with bright flesh: roast it in wedges, then mash it into a purée for fillings.
- Ground cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest for aroma.
- Cornflour or dried breadcrumbs, so the juice from the filling doesn't make the pastry soggy.
See also
- Recipes
An open apple pie, herb-roasted vegetables and a simple homemade loaf, with weights and timings.
- Drinks
Tea, cocoa, berry drinks and compote: what the whole family can enjoy with pie, pizza and fresh bread.
- Meatloaf (in Russian)
Meatloaf with egg and herbs: shaping, baking to a safe temperature in the centre, slicing and storing.
- Pizza dough (in Russian)
Our yeast dough for two pizzas: how to knead it, how to tell it has risen and what to do with any leftover dough.
- Techniques
Oven modes, preheating, rack levels, baking paper and tins, plus three ways to check that food is done.
- Tips
Short, practical tips on the oven, dough and baking trays, plus our catalogue of articles.
What we draw on
- cookery reference books and home recipes
- the guide's own editorial material
Times and temperatures in our recipes are a guide, not a rule: every oven heats in its own way, and flour and other ingredients behave a little differently each time. Go by the colour of the crust, the smell and the signs of doneness, not just the timer.