We have just a few weeks before warming soups and roast dinners take the place of summer food, and one way to make the most of those final rays of sunshine is to share some tapas dishes with friends.

Luckily for those who want to be in the garden, rather than the kitchen, making tapas is less about intricate techniques, and more about delicious ingredients.

Carlos Horrillo, co-author of new book Tapas, has run a Spanish restaurant for 20 years. He says: “Tapas can be a lovely way of eating. If you go to a little village in the Spanish mountains away from the beach resorts, you’ll eat something incredibly true to the region – cooked with minimal resource. They’ll use ingredients from that area, cooked to perfection.”

According to Horrillo, 51, the secret to making great tapas is to keep things unpretentious.

“The key is to plan ahead. The cooking bit is simple. If you make sure you roast the tomatoes and garlic, and peel the peppers in advance, then during the final cooking stage, everything will go without a hitch.”

Many of Horrillo’s recipes involve few ingredients, and the key components are marinated overnight.

“We’re careful with what we pick – choosing flavours which are easily identifiable. With tapas you can order five dishes, they can have totally different flavours and that’s lovely.”

The start of autumn is an excellent time to fill your shopping basket with tomatoes, spring onions, broad beans and, of course, those vital Mediterranean ingredients – garlic, olives, lemon, ham and chicken – as well some good quality chorizo.