It's important to keep the laissez-faire ideals of the summer holidays alive and the traybake – the type of dinner you could eat at the table or outdoors in your togs – fits the bill every time. The following one-tray wonders are light for summer but heavy on flavour, with all the one-and-done qualities that keep your time in the kitchen to a minimum.

Pastrami-spiced chicken thighs with pickles

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg chicken thighs, skin-on, bone-in
• ½-¾ cup sweet butter pickles

Pastrami wet spice blend

• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds, coarsely ground
• 1 tbsp brown mustard seeds, coarsely ground
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, coarsely ground
• 1 tsp cloves, coarsely ground
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp honey mustard
• 2 tbsp olive oil (plus more for greasing the tray)

Dipping sauce

• ¼ cup pickling juice (from your jar of pickles)
• ¾ cup sour cream
• 1½ tbsp finely chopped chives

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
2. Add the spice blend ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine. Drizzle some olive oil across the base of a roasting tray. Place the chicken pieces in a single layer, skin side up, and rub generously with the spice blend, coating the skin.
3. Cook for 45 minutes, or until the chicken has cooked through and the skin is crisp.
4. While the chicken is cooking, make the dipping sauce by combining the sour cream and pickle juice in a bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper and scatter over the chives.
5. Remove the chicken from the oven and scatter with the pickles. Serve with the sour cream mixture drizzled over the chicken or as a dipping sauce on the side.

Serves 4-6

Gochujang plum salmon with green beans and sesame

I always opt for a side of salmon rather than portioned fillets. I think it makes for far more flavourful and even cooking. Look for an evenly-sized piece of fish – it's important to try to keep the cooking to 15 minutes as the last thing you want to do is overcook the beans. The sweet spot for this dish is 13-15 minutes in the oven – the beans are soft in parts and crunchy in others, while the salmon achieves blushed-cheek perfection. Serve with steamed white rice.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 x 500-600g side of salmon
• 2 cups green beans, trimmed
• 2 limes, halved
• 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced (optional)
• steamed rice, to serve

Marinade

• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 tbsp gochujang paste
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 3-4 tbsp plum jam
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
2. Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Generously oil the base of a baking tray and add the salmon. Nestle the beans and lime halves around the fish and pour three-quarters of the marinade over the salmon – it will run off into the corners of the tray and over the beans. This is totally OK.
3. Shove in the oven for 15 minutes. When you have 5 minutes remaining, pour over the remaining marinade.
4. Remove the tray from the oven, and scatter with the sesame seeds and spring onion, if using. Serve with steamed rice.

Serves 4-6

Summer veg and halloumi one-tray wonder

This is a one-tray wonder at its summer best, unless you are an avid crispy halloumi chaser (I totally understand). In which case, you will get your preferred results by browning the cheese slices in a frying pan before popping them on top of the veg in the oven. Either works.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 evenly sliced pieces of halloumi (about 1cm thick), or to taste
• olive oil
• 3 small continental eggplants, sliced into even rounds
• 3 small zucchinis, sliced into even rounds
• 2-3 sprigs oregano, leaves pulled
• 2 corn cobs, kernels cut off in shears
• 400g medley cherry tomatoes
• zest of 1 lemon (and juice of ½ lemon)
• Aleppo pepper or chilli flakes, to scatter
• mint, basil and flat-leaf parsley leaves, to scatter
• watercress (optional), to serve

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
2. Add a generous lug of olive oil to a large flat roasting tray and arrange the eggplant and zucchini slices on top. Some overlap is fine. Scatter with oregano leaves and roast for 20 minutes. The eggplant will take on quite a bit of colour – don't worry about this.
3. Open the oven and fling the corn and tomatoes over the eggplant and zucchini. Place the slices of halloumi on top of the veg and cook for another 15 minutes.
4. Change the oven setting to the top grill and cook for another 3-8 minutes to brown the top of the halloumi, keeping a close eye on things.
5. Remove the tray from the oven, season generously with salt, pepper and lemon zest. Squeeze over the lemon juice and give everything another lug of olive oil. Sprinkle Aleppo pepper or chilli flakes over the halloumi to taste. Scatter over the fresh herbs and a few stems of watercress, if using, and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Spiced lamb meatballs with chickpeas and sumac feta

I imagine this spilling indecently out the top of puffy white pitas, or enjoyed, fresh from a swim, with a fork dipping into the tray, the need for plates debatable.

I've made the quantity for 1kg lamb mince so you can have half now and extra meatballs for the freezer, ready for a long day when it's simpler to defrost rather than think. I've got you.

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg lamb mince
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds, freshly ground
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds, freshly ground
• 2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 tbsp finely chopped mixed soft herbs (I used coriander, flat-leaf parsley, mint and chives)
• 400g can chickpeas, rinsed
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup Persian-style feta
• 2 tsp ground sumac
• 1 cup mixed herbs, coarsely torn, to scatter

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
2. Combine the dry spices in a bowl, and reserve 1 tablespoon of the spice mix for the chickpeas.
3. Combine the mince, remaining spice mix, garlic and chopped herbs in a bowl. Using your hands, ensure everything is thoroughly incorporated.
4. Generously oil the base of a roasting tray. Roll the mince mixture into golf ball-sized meatballs and place half of the balls on the tray, packing the rest into a freezer-safe container for another dinner. (If you only want to make this for immediate consumption, simply halve the amount of mince and spices.)
5. Add the chickpeas and cranberries to the tray, around the meatballs, and scatter over the remaining spice mix.
6. Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are golden and cooked through and the chickpeas have begun to crisp.
7. Remove from the oven and immediately scatter over the feta so that it softens and melts luxuriously over the chickpeas. Season the feta with sumac then scatter the mixed herbs over the top. Serve immediately. Eat exactly as is or stretch it by serving with piping-hot fluffy pitas.

Serves 4