This healthy winter recipe is the perfect remedy to the cold weather outside.
SERVES 2
- 130g bulgur wheat
- 1 tbsp ras el hanout
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can of chickpeas
- 80g baby leaf spinach
- 1 red onion
- Half a vegetable stock cube
- 10g pine kernels
- 10g sunflower Seeds
- 10g pumpkin seeds
- 1 aubergine
- 5g mint
- 40g harissa paste sachet
- Olive oil
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 7. Trim the green stalks off the aubergine and chop into bite- sized pieces. Add the chopped aubergine to a baking tray with a generous drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Put the tray in the oven for 25 mins until the aubergine is softened.
- Meanwhile, boil a kettle. Dice the tomatoes and peel and finely chop the red onion. Dissolve half a vegetable stock cube in 250ml boiled water and re-boil the kettle.
- Heat a large, wide-based pan with 1 tbsp olive oil over a medium heat. Once hot, add the chopped red onion and cook for 5 mins or until softened.
- Add the bulgur wheat to a pot with plenty of boiled water and a pinch of salt and cook over a high heat for 10-15 mins or until tender with a slight bite, then drain and return to the pot. Once the onion has softened, add the ras el hanout to the pan with the tomato paste and cook for 1 min or until fragrant.
- Once fragrant, add the diced tomato, vegetable stock and harissa paste and cook for 5-10 mins until reduced to a thick sauce. Meanwhile, re-boil a kettle Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Once the sauce has thickened, add the drained chickpeas and cook for a further 2-3 mins until combined.
- Add the baby spinach to a colander and pour over the boiled water so that it starts to wilt. Rinse the wilted spinach under cold water until cool. Squeeze the water out of the spinach and chop it roughly, then add to the pot with the cooked bulgur wheat. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Once the aubergine is softened and golden, push it to one side of the tray and add the pine kernels, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds to the other side. Return the tray to the oven for 5 mins or until toasted. Meanwhile, strip the mint leaves from their stems and chop them finely.
- Stir the roasted aubergine into the harissa and chickpea stew. Serve with the spinach and bulgur to the side. Garnish with the toasted seeds and chopped mint.