Roasted aubergine traybake recipe

If you are entertaining, what you need is a recipe that requires very little active time in the kitchen, says Tim Spector. And this traybake fits that brief. You can assemble it in advance and then pop it in the oven 40 minutes before you plan on serving it. The garnishes make the dish look like a showstopper and increases its "plant score", giving you lots of polyphenols and a boost of fibre.

Ingredients:

• 2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained and patted dry
• 350g cherry tomatoes
• 2 peppers, cut into 2cm chunks
• 200g halloumi, cut into 1cm cubes
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2½ tsp ground cumin
• 1½ tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 aubergines, halved
• 3 tbsp tahini
• 180ml kefir
• 2 tsp sumac
• 20g coriander, roughly chopped
• 4 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp pomegranate seeds
• juice of 1 lime
• salt and black pepper

Method:

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• Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment and sprinkle over a little cornmeal.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas 6 and line two large baking trays with baking parchment.
• Put the chickpeas, tomatoes, peppers, halloumi and garlic cloves on one tray with three-quarters each of the cumin, ground coriander and chilli powder. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Toss to coat.
• Cut each aubergine in half lengthways and score a 2cm deep criss-cross pattern into the flesh of each one. Sprinkle with the remaining ground spices and drizzle with the rest of the olive oil, season and place on the other baking tray. Place both trays in the oven for 40 minutes.
• Mix the tahini, kefir and sumac in a bowl and season.
• When the vegetables are ready, squeeze the garlic from their skins into the sauce, mash them in and stir to combine.
• Transfer the chickpeas, halloumi and veg to a serving dish and stir in three-quarters of the fresh coriander. Place the aubergine halves on top and scatter with the remaining coriander, spring onions, pomegranate seeds, lime juice and the tahini, kefir and sumac sauce.
• Top-ups: a little sauerkraut on the side.
• Swaps: firm tofu for halloumi; plant-based yoghurt for kefir.

Taken from "The Food for Life Cookbook" by Tim Spector, published by Jonathan Cape at £28. All photography by Issy Croker.

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