Don's BBQ vegetables

Several baby beetroot, scrubbed
Carrot sticks
Chunks of pumpkin
Courgettes, cut into chunks
Red onions
Red, yellow and green peppers
Whole cloves of garlic
Whole small tomatoes
Oil
Chopped fresh herbs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Balsamic vinegar

The beetroot, pumpkin and carrots benefit from some prior cooking. They can be given some time in the microwave - the exact amount will depend on the size of the pieces and the power of your microwave. Halve the beetroot after the preliminary cooking.

Peel the red onions but leave the root end intact. Quarter lengthwise and the root part will hold the onion layers together.

Core and deseed the peppers and cut into quarters

You can add other vegetables depending on what you have in your kitchen - corn cobs cut into 2cm rings, chunks of sweet potato.

Place the prepared vegetables in a bowl and sprinkle with oil, salt, pepper and herbs. Turn over to cover well.

We use a wire mesh cage to hold the vegetables, but you can buy a sort of holey wok-style basket for the purpose, or put the vegetables straight onto the solid grill. The mesh cage (sold for holding hamburger patties) is good because you can turn it over as you cook, as long as you keep the vegetable pieces large enough not to slip through the holes. The Spouse lined the bottom with foil.

When the vegetables are cooked, sprinkle them lightly with a little balsamic vinegar. And if it's the middle of winter in your part of the world, the good news is these vegetables can be roasted in a shallow tray in the oven.