Spiced Aubergine & Courgette With Mint & Pistachio Quinoa

Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ gas 7 and boil a kettle

Top, tail and slice your aubergine[s] and courgette[s] lengthways

Add the sliced aubergine and courgette to a baking tray (or two!) with your ras el hanout, a generous pinch of salt and a generous drizzle of olive oil

Give everything a good mix up and put the tray[s] in the oven for 20-25 min or until everything is cooked through and tender

Meanwhile, heat a medium-sized pot over a high heat

Once hot, add your pistachio nuts and cook for 2-3 min or until toasted and golden

Tip: Watch them like a hawk so they don't burn!

Once toasted, transfer to a plate and set aside for later and reserve the pot

Rinse your quinoa in a sieve under cold running water

Add the quinoa to a pot with plenty of boiled water and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 6-10 min or until all the quinoa is tender

Once cooked, drain, return it to the pot until serving

Whilst the quinoa is cooking, peel and finely grate (or finely chop) your garlic

Roll your lemon[s] with your hand on a hard surface (to release more juice) and cut in half

Combine the grated garlic (not a fan of raw garlic? Just add a little!) with the juice of the lemon[s] (not sure about citrus? Try using less!), 2 tbsp [3 tbsp] [4 tbsp] olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl – this is your lemon dressing

Strip your mint leaves from their stems and chop them roughly, discard the stems

Chop your cherry tomatoes into quarters

Crumble your Greek cheese into rough bite-sized pieces

Wash your salad, then pat it dry with kitchen paper

Add the chopped mint, cherry tomato quarters, salad and half the crumbled Greek cheese (save the rest for garnish!) to the cooked quinoa

Add the lemon dressing and mix it all together – this is your quinoa salad

Chop your toasted pistachios roughly