Roasted Aubergine Tian, Seared Vegan Halloumi, Spiced Lentils, Romesco & Salsa Verde

Serves 4

Preparate your Romesco, Salsa Verde, and Spiced Lentils in advance.

For the Romesco

The following recipe will fill a 1 kilo Kilner jar.

You will need:

1 sterilised Kilner jar

3 whole, large Red Peppers

1 whole Red Chilli

3 Cloves of Garlic, husk on

1 sprig of Thyme

1 sprig of Rosemary

300mls Olive Oil

2 slices of Stale Bread, broken up

1 small handful of Cherry Plum Tomatoes

200g ground Almonds

Juice of 1 Lemon

3 teaspoons of Smoked Paprika

Maldon Sea Salt, for seasoning

Method:

Season the tomato slices with Maldon salt, pepper and lemon zest. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over a pinch of the picked thyme.

In a measuring jug add the hard herbs, garlic, remaining lemon zest. Cover well with olive oil and using a hand blender make a smooth marinade.

In a mixing bowl marinate the aubergine slices in 200mls of the olive oil marinade. Cover and leave for 30 minutes to steep.

Slice the Vegan Halloumi lengthways and marinade in the remaining 100mls of the olive oil marinade and a couple of turns of black pepper.

In a hot heavy bottomed frying pan sear the aubergine slices until golden brown. Season.

Place the aubergine slices onto a baking tray into a hot oven for 5 minutes. Place the tomatoes into the same oven for 2 minutes, allowing them to warm through but not soften.

Then you can build your tians. Layer one aubergine slice with tomato and a spoonful of spinach. Repeat that order and then top with a final aubergine slice.

Place the tians onto silicon paper and set aside. They will need 5-10 mins in a moderate oven to warm through before service.

In a hot heavy bottomed frying pan sear the Halloumi until golden brown. Use the marinade to fry the cheese. Add a twist of pepper but do not add salt as the cheese is quite salty already.

Serve, romesco, salsa verde and the spiced lentils. The dish eats well with winter greens, sprouts or broccoli.