Echoes of the Greek dish moussaka are correctly heard here, both in the name and the feel of the dish. It’s a vegetarian take on the hearty, humble, healthy and completely delicious traybake.

It works well either as a veggie main or as a side with all sorts of things: piled into a jacket potato, for example, or served alongside some grilled meat, fish or tofu. It’s just the sort of dish you want to have in the fridge ready to greet you after a day out at work. It’s also lovely at room temperature, so it’s great to pile into the Tupperware for an on-the-go lunch.

Getting ahead: You can make and bake this in advance: it keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days, ready to be warmed through when needed.

Serves four as a main or six as a side

Ingredients

5 medium aubergines (1.25kg)
120ml olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped (160g)
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp tomato purée
2 green peppers, deseeded and cut into 3cm chunks (200g)
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (240g)
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1½ tsp caster sugar
15g coriander, roughly chopped, plus 5g extra to serve
4 plum tomatoes, trimmed and sliced into 1½cm-thick rounds (350g)
Salt and black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C fan. Use a vegetable peeler to peel away strips of aubergine skin from top to bottom, leaving the aubergines with alternating strips of black skin and white flesh, like a zebra. Cut widthways into round slices, 2cm thick, and place in a large bowl.

Mix well with 75ml of oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper and spread out on two large parchment-lined baking trays. Roast for about 30 minutes, or until completely softened and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C fan.

While the aubergines are roasting, make the sauce. Put 2 tablespoons of oil into a large sauté pan and place on a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 7 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Add the garlic, chilli, cumin, cinnamon and tomato purée and cook for another minute, or until fragrant.

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