It’s barbecue season, but why not take a break from the burgers and sausages to try grilled food with the lighter touch, from Berber & Q by Josh Katz?

Shish kebab (serves 2-4)

100ml buttermilk

1/2tsp ground cumin

1/4tsp cayenne pepper

1tsp sweet paprika

1/4tsp ground cinnamon

2 garlic cloves, minced

2tbsp garlic or olive oil

1tbsp hot red pepper paste

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

1tsp salt

1/4tsp coarse ground black pepper

1/2 onion, sliced

8 chicken thighs, deboned, skinned and quartered

2 green and 2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into chunks

1 red onion, peeled and quartered

4 thin metal skewers, approximately 40-45cm long

To garnish and serve:

Pitas or flatbread

2tbsp garlic or olive oil, plus extra to brush

1tbsp thinly sliced spring onion

1tbsp picked oregano leaves

12 confit garlic cloves

1tbsp Quick-preserved Lemon Pickle (zest of 3 lemons sliced into thin strips, cooked in the juice of the 3 lemons for 12-15 minutes until tender, then cooled - makes 30g)

Garlic sauce

Middle Eastern slaw (or standard coleslaw)

Make the buttermilk chicken shish. Put the buttermilk, spices, garlic, garlic oil, hot red pepper paste, lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper and onion in a bowl and stir together to combine.

Add the chicken pieces to the marinade and massage the mixture into the chicken to ensure it’s evenly distributed. Cover the bowl and leave in the fridge for 4-6 hours, preferably overnight.

Skewer the chicken pieces intermittently with the red and green pepper and the red onion. Set a barbecue up for single-zone, direct grilling (this basically means you place your meat on the rack directly above a large bed of burning coals; open the bottom vents if your barbecue has them) - ensuring that you are cooking on medium-hot embers. Grill the skewers directly over the burning coals, turning frequently to ensure both sides are well coloured and the chicken is cooked all the way through when checked with a knife.

Brush the pitas or flatbreads with a little olive oil mixed with a few drops of water, and warm through briefly on the grill. They can be placed directly on top of the skewers if there isn’t sufficient room in the barbecue.

Remove the pitas and transfer to a platter. Place the skewered chicken thighs atop, brushed with olive oil. Scatter the spring onion and oregano leaves liberally over the skewers, along with the confit garlic cloves and lemon pickle.

Cauliflower shawarma (serves 4-8)

1 whole cauliflower

For the shawarma spiced butter:

40g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

Juice of 1 lemon

1 garlic clove, minced

1.5tbsp finely chopped coriander

1tbsp ground cinnamon

1tbsp ground sumac

1.5tsp ground cumin

1/2tsp ground allspice

Pinch of ground nutmeg

Pinch of ground cardamom

Salt and pepper

To serve:

4tbsp Tahina Sauce (Pour 100g tahini paste into a bowl and add 1tbsp lemon juice and 1 minced garlic clove, gradually whisk in100ml iced water until the sauce is the consistency of honey - makes 220g)

1tbsp pomegranate molasses

1.5tbsp pine nuts, toasted

1 small green chilli, finely chopped

2tbsp pomegranate seeds

1tsp dried rose petals

1tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Extra virgin olive oil (optional)

Make the butter. Combine all the ingredients in a stand mixer and mix using the paddle attachment. In the absence of a mixer, whisk in a large bowl until thoroughly incorporated. The butter should be aerated, slightly stiff and one colour (as opposed to streaked). Set aside until needed. It can be kept in the fridge for several weeks, but must be brought to room temperature before being used.

Trim some of the outer cauliflower leaves, but leave some stragglers left behind - they taste delicious and look great when burnt and crisped. Set a large saucepan of salted water on high heat and cover with a lid so as to bring the water up to the boil. Once the water is boiling, gently lower the cauliflower into the pan, being careful not to let it drop from a height and thereby avoiding the potential of burning yourself with the splash-back of boiling water. Bring the water back to the boil, then turn the heat down to medium so the water has a gentle roll. The intention is to par-cook the cauliflower before finishing it in the oven or on the barbecue. It should be removed from the water when tender to a knife, yet retain some resistance - ‘al dente’, as they say. We’ve found it to take seven minutes from when the water comes back to the boil.

Set the cauliflower on a cooling rack over a roasting tray and allow to drip-dry. Brush liberally all over with the spiced butter, and where possible, try and get beneath the floret canopy to reach the inner sections. Retain some of the butter for brushing at a later stage. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to its highest setting (240°C/220°C Fan/Gas mark 9) and blast the cauliflower for five to seven minutes, until blackened all over. (You want it to lightly char, not to form an acrid burnt crust.) Once sufficiently oven-roasted, transfer it to finish on the barbecue for a few minutes (if you have one going) for a final hit of smokiness, basting it periodically with any leftover butter.

Transfer to a serving plate. Spoon over the tahina sauce and pomegranate molasses, and finish by sprinkling over the pine nuts, green chilli, pomegranate seeds, rose petals and parsley. A drizzle of olive oil adds a nice glossy finish. Serve immediately - the cauliflower tastes so much better when hot.

Gambas pil-pil (serves 2)

8 giant black tiger prawns, or any large prawns you can find, the bigger the better

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced or grated

1tbsp chopped dill

1tsp dried chilli flakes

Salt and pepper

For the pil-pil sauce:

100ml olive oil

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2tsp salt

1tsp cumin seeds, lightly toasted

1tsp ground coriander

Pinch of cayenne

8-10 cherry tomatoes, quartered and deseeded

3tbsp Confit Chilli Salsa (see below)

For the Confit Chilli Salsa:

(makes 150g)

12 red chillis, stems trimmed and discarded

4 sprigs of thyme

5 large garlic cloves

2 bay leaves

Olive oil, to cover

To serve:

2tbsp lemon juice

2 basil leaves, finely sliced

2 slices of sourdough or ciabatta, lightly grilled on both sides (optional)

Make the Confit Chilli Salsa. Preheat the oven to 150C/Gas mark 2. Place the chillies in a deep baking dish, along with the herbs, garlic and bay leaves and add oil to cover. Tightly cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes to an hour, until the chillies have softened but not dried out. Remove and allow to cool. Then remove the chillies and chop finely, store in a kilner jar in oil for up to a week in the fridge.

Deshell the prawns, leaving the heads and tails on for aesthetic appeal. Use a small knife to create a slit and cut out the vein that runs down the back of each prawn. Season the prawns with salt and pepper, toss them in olive oil, garlic, dill and chilli flakes, and put in the refrigerator to marinate for two to four hours.

Make the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based (preferably cast-iron) frying pan and gently saute the garlic for two to three minutes, until softened and translucent but not coloured. Remove the garlic from the oil with a slotted spoon (be sure to take out all of it and don’t leave any stragglers behind) and transfer to a mortar and pestle, leaving the cooking oil in the pan. Add the salt, cumin seeds, ground coriander and cayenne to the garlic and work the mix until it forms a paste.

Return the pan and oil to the stovetop and warm over medium heat. Add the confit chilli salsa, cherry tomatoes and garlic mix, and cook for few minutes to heat through. Turn the heat down as low as it can go and let the sauce gently bubble away and intensify in flavour while you finish the prawns.

Set a barbecue up for direct grilling ensuring that you are cooking on hot embers. Set the prawns on the grill rack directly over the burning coals, turning once or twice to colour both sides well, until the prawns are cooked all the way through, about two to three minutes on each side depending on the strength of your fire. Alternatively, heat a cast-iron pan over high heat until smoking hot and grill the prawns until done.

While the prawns are grilling, have the pan with the pil-pil sauce set on the outer edges of the barbecue or grill to warm through.

Once cooked, transfer the prawns to the pan of sauce and finish with the lemon juice. Garnish with the basil and serve immediately. Some lightly grilled bread of any sort will be needed to mop up the pan juices.