Cooking vegetables in this way concentrates the natural sugars to create fruity, caramel flavours. Add some salty capers or anchovies, if liked, to offset the sweetness.

Serves 4-6
2 red and 2 purple peppers
6 medium beets, halved lengthways, skins intact
4 medium red onions, halved crossways, skins intact
600g butternut squash, skin left on, cut in 3cm wedges
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
16 salted anchovy fillets, halved lengthways (optional)
4 tbsp salted capers (optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 200°­­­­­­C, Gas Mark 6. Halve, then quarter each pepper lengthways, leaving on the stems but discarding the pith and seeds. Set the pepper quarters, skin side down, in a large roasting pan. Put the beet halves and the red onion halves in the pan, all skin side down. Add the butternut squash. Drizzle all the vegetables with enough olive oil to make them gleam, and then season generously. Roast, uncovered, for 40-50 minutes or until the vegetables become dark and frizzled around the edges and the flesh begins to collapse. Before serving, add a criss-cross of anchovy fillets inside the pepper quarters and sprinkle with capers, if liked. Eat hot, warm or cool, with bread to mop up the sticky juices.

FEATURE CLARE FERGUSON
STYLING ALI BROWN
PHOTOGRAPHS WILLIAM LINGWOOD