August is the month when I tend to spend the least time in the kitchen actually cooking. So, when I am in there, I want to make it really count. The answer? Stock up on the seasonal surplus of fruit and vegetables, and knock up a great, big batch of something that’s going to last and last. Making the most of what we have in such abundance now – preserving and conserving it for the months ahead, after the bounty has passed for another year – is something well worth getting into the kitchen for.

Mango and squash atchar (pictured top)

Atchar, or achar, is a highly spiced, flavour-packed south-east Asian condiment made with preserved fruit and vegetables. The vegetables are variable, so use whatever you have, and don’t worry if you don’t have all the spices listed here. Sweet, bitter, sharp and colourful, atchar can be piled into all sorts of things: a dish of lentils, say, or any sandwich or wrap. Once made, it will keep well for three months.

Prep 30 min
Cook 25 min
Pickle 3 days
Makes 1½-litre jar

For the base
200g green beans, trimmed and cut into 3cm pieces
1 large firm mango, skinned and stoned, flesh cut into roughly 2cm pieces (600g)
½ butternut or summer squash, peeled, seeds and pith removed, flesh cut into roughly 1cm pieces (200g)
1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced (150g)
6 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground kashmiri chilli
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds
1 tsp mild curry powder
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds – black or yellow
½ cinnamon stick
Fine sea salt

For the pickling liquid
200ml apple cider vinegar, or coconut vinegar
50g soft dried apricots
75g caster sugar
20g cornflour

For the temper
100ml vegetable oil
3 stems fresh curry leaves, picked
6 hot green finger chillies, left whole and pierced with a sharp knife
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds

First, sterilise a 1½ litre jar (or smaller jars). Put the beans, mango, squash, onion and garlic in a large heatproof bowl.

Gently toast all the spices for the base in a nonstick frying pan until fragrant, then tip into a spice grinder and blitz to a fine powder. Add the ground spices and a tablespoon of salt to the vegetable bowl, then mix well to combine.

Put all the ingredients for the pickling liquid in a blender, add 100ml cold water, then blitz smooth. Pour the mix into a small saucepan, bring up to a gentle boil, then cook, whisking constantly, for about 10 minutes, until thickened and no longer chalky. While the liquid is still hot, pour it over the vegetables and toss to combine.

For the temper, put a medium saucepan on a medium-high heat, then add the oil, curry leaves, whole green chillies and mustard seeds. When the oil begins to bubble and smell fragrant, add the cumin seeds and cook for another minute. Take the pan off the heat, immediately pour the temper over the vegetables and mix again to combine.

Pack the atchar mix tightly into the sterilised jar (or jars), making sure it’s completely submerged in liquid, then put in the fridge or a cupboard and leave for at least three days before digging in.

Ajvar

Ajvar is a wonderful, and possibly addictive, eastern European condiment. It’s hugely versatile, too, and as good as a side dish (topped with crisp roast potatoes, goat’s cheese and lots of chopped parsley, say) as it is as a condiment for pork belly or a slice of cheese. It will keep in the fridge for about three months, so long as it’s completely covered with oil.

Prep 15 min
Cook 45 min
Steep 3 days
Makes About 600ml

1 red chilli (or more if you really like spice), halved lengthways and deseeded
2 aubergines, halved lengthways, flesh scored 2cm deep in a criss-cross pattern (600g)
4 red peppers, halved lengthways, stems, seeds and pith removed and discarded (700g)
60ml olive oil, plus extra for jarring
Fine sea salt and black pepper
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
½ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp chilli flakes
10g parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp sherry vinegar, or white-wine vinegar

Heat the oven to 230C (210C fan)/450F/gas 8. Put the chilli, aubergines and red peppers on a large oven tray lined with baking paper and add two tablespoons of olive oil and a teaspoon of salt. Toss to combine, then spread everything out cut side down and evenly spaced. Roast the vegetables for 30-35 minutes, until the tops of the peppers are charred and the aubergines are fully cooked through.

Take the tray out of the oven and, once the vegetables are cool enough to handle, peel off and discard the skin from the chilli, aubergines and peppers. Roughly chop the flesh into a semi-paste, but still maintaining some texture.

Put a medium saucepan on a medium-high heat, pour in the remaining two tablespoons of oil, then add the chopped vegetables and the garlic, and cook, stirring regularly, for about 13 minutes, until most of the moisture has evaporated and the paste has thickened.

Stir in the paprika and chilli flakes, cook for two minutes more, then take off the heat. Mix in the parsley, vinegar, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a few twists of black pepper, then pack tightly into a sterilised 600ml jar (or jars), filling it up to ½cm from the top. Fill the last ½cm with extra olive oil, making sure everything is submerged. While the mix is still hot, seal the jar and leave to cool. Leave the ajvar in a dark cupboard for at least three days before tucking in.