Summery spread

Berry and cheese bruschetta
Take the last few batches of strawberries and use them at the start of the summer. Chop them into halves and drizzle olive oil on top, season the topping and leave it to chill. Slather cheese spread on a baguette and plonk the berry mixture on top.

Cucumber-dill sandwiches
Finely chop the vegetable and toss it with half-a-cup of hung curd. Add dill leaves and season it with salt and pepper. Stuff this filling into bread and cut it into finger sandwiches. Add slices of tomatoes for flavour.

Vietnamese summer rolls
We dream of these rolls through the other seasons. The light-on-stomach appetizer can be turned into a meal. Soak ready-made rice paper in water. Drain and stuff it with raw juliennes of cucumber, carrot, celery and basil leaves.
Wrap and serve.

Kidney bean hummus
Ditch traditional hummus for this scarlet variety. Whisk kidney beans with a spoonful of tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Transfer the fluffy paste into a bowl and serve it with ample chips or crudites.

Jelly and radish salsa
Finely chop firm jelly into cubes. Add it to finely chopped red radish, tomatoes, onions and chillies. Squeeze lemon juice on top and toss. Garnish the salsa with finely chopped coriander, salt and pepper. Eat with corn tortillas.

Crab meat canapes
Mix cooked crab meat with finely chopped roasted bell pepper, spring onions, sweet corn and capsicum. Flavour with some cold soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Spoon this on ready made canapes and serve immediately. Garnish with micro-greens.

Marinated cheese and olives
In a blender, blitz olive oil, a clove of garlic, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup orange juice. Drizzle this on some mozzarella cheese and whole olives. Sprinkle dry herbs on top and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Serve with crackers or cured meats.