Food Feature: How to cook summer’s bounty?

Don’t. Or rather, barely cook it. That means blanching or roasting, two methods that require no fuss and scarcely any time, and bring out the natural flavor of vegetables like nobody’s business.

Blanch skinny things — French green beans or baby carrots, for example. Start with a large (eight-quart minimum) pot. Fill it three-quarters full with cold water, add a handful of kosher salt, put on the lid and bring the water to a hearty boil. When steam comes out, toss the vegetables in and clamp the lid on again. When the water comes back to a boil, the vegetables are done. Drain and rinse immediately.

Larger vegetables, potatoes and such, roast brilliantly. Quarter them lengthwise, then toss in a mixing bowl with some first-quality olive oil and a bit of salt. (You can use any kind of fat, but you will need just the slightest film of something, to prevent the vegetables from sticking to the pan.)

Roasting calls for a substantial pan, especially when roasting at high temperatures. But don’t use a pan larger than what you’re going to put inside it. I use a 9-by-13 inch French aluminum roaster with a non-stick lining. Arrange the oil-coated vegetables in a single layer in the pan, put the pan on the center rack and roast at 500 degrees. Beets, leeks, potatoes and onions take 30 minutes; tomatoes and shallots take 20 minutes; broccoli will be tender but still firm after 10 minutes.

Roast more vegetables than you think you need. They shrink.

Simpler is better with fruit as well. My favorite way to prepare June’s cherries is to simmer them (stemmed and pitted) in red wine (to cover, about a cup) and a spritz of lemon for about 15 minutes, then let them steep for two hours.??