Moroccan Spiced Chickpea and Aubergine Salad

Spring has sprung! Time to dust off some salad recipes and replace the comfort foods with more fresh vibrancy. When my mother in law went to Morocco last year she bought us back heaps of spices which need using up. They came freshly ground straight from the souq – wonderful, but are losing potency by the day. I had intended to use some ras el hanout in this recipe but really didnt enjoy my first batch of dressing – maybe this particular blend wasn’t quite to my taste, or maybe the batch had already gone off? Anyway, batch number two was, in my opinion, far more enjoyable – probably not terribly authentic but I combined cumin, coriander and sweet paprika and I found it worked beautifully with the chickpeas and aubergines.

I’ve always said aubergine is a tricky vegetable to get right, but again here it comes into its own.

Moroccan Spiced Chickpea and Aubergine Salad (dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan)

serves at least 4

• 1 aubergine, cubed
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tin chickpeas, drained
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 1 large handful fresh coriander, leaves picked
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt

– Salt the aubergine cubes for 1/2 an hour to remove any bitter juices. Rinse and dry.
– Fry the aubergine in the olive oil until golden on all sides.
– Drain on kitchen paper
– Meanwhile, make the dressing: whisk together the lemon, sunflower oil, paprika, cumin, ground coriander, vinegar and salt.
– Place the chickpeas, spring onions and aubergine in a bowl.
– Pour over the dressing and combine well.
– Leave to marinade at room temperature for at least half an hour
– Before serving toss through the fresh coriander leaves