As the summer season arrives, it feels like the perfect time to embrace a more relaxed grazing style for meals. Platters of food lend themselves to laid-back entertaining, although truthfully this is my preferred way of cooking for all seasons. Seafood does feel like the essence of summer with its fresh and vibrant flavours. Maybe it’s because I associate summer with my childhood holidays at my grandparents’ home in Northland, where we’d dig for tuatua which, along with fresh snapper and smoked kahawai, were often the basis of a meal.

Most seafoods are fast to prepare, which is ideal when you want the bulk of the work to be done ahead of time; being stuck in the kitchen when there are people to talk to is never my idea of fun. I like making quick pickles and slower fermented vegetables as the salty sourness works well with fish and provides a zingy contrast. I usually have a jar or two to hand, but capers, jars of gherkins, krauts and kimchi can all be used to perform the same function.

I keep the side dishes simple. There is usually bread or new potatoes and a salad or two that complement the fish. Fennel, lemon and olives are natural partners for seafood and always seem to feature somewhere along the way.