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Warm Greek Salad sans Feta

This is one of my favourite salads – a lovely combination of bright colours and intense flavours. Here, the aubergine takes the place of the feta, its tender flesh melding with the sweetness of the peppers, the aroma of the mint and salty tang of the olives. I love to make this when friends come to visit – it’s so simple to prepare but tastes quite complex and is really versatile. Served with a few green leaves and a slice of bread, it makes a refreshing light lunch, but it works equally well as an accompaniment to a larger meal. For a delicious supper menu, it would go wonderfully with my Spring Chicken with Lemon and Herbs and Roasted Sweet Potatoes.

Serves 4

Contains nuts

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25g/1oz pine nuts

1 red onion

1 red pepper

1 yellow or orange pepper

1 large aubergine

1 clove of garlic

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp soft light brown sugar

½ cucumber

20 cherry tomatoes

15 pitted black olives

A bunch of mint

Juice of ½ lemon

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.

Scatter the pine nuts on a baking tray and toast in the oven, turning occasionally to make sure they don’t burn, for 5–6 minutes or until golden brown, then remove and set aside to cool.

Halve the onion, slicing it into thin half-moons, then deseed the peppers and cut lengthways into strips about 5mm/¼in thick. Trim the ends from the aubergine and cut into chunks approximately 2cm/¾in in size. Crush the garlic and place in a large roasting tin with the onion, peppers and aubergine. Drizzle over half the olive oil, tossing to combine, then sprinkle over the sugar and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 25–30 minutes or until all the vegetables are softened and browned around the edges.

Meanwhile, peel the cucumber and cut into 1cm/½in cubes, then halve the cherry tomatoes and black olives. Place in a large serving bowl with the roasted vegetables and mix together. Finely chop the mint and scatter over the salad, along with the toasted pine nuts. Pour over the remaining olive oil and the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss together so that the salad is thoroughly mixed and coated in the dressing. Serve while warm.