Vegan Pomegranate-glazed Aubergine Lentil Salad

Thick sweet slices of aubergine are griddled until golden and served with a tangy pomegranate dressing. These are delicious warm topped with a little herby yoghurt. Baharat is a spice mixture usually including coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom. If you cannot find it use a little cumin and coriander instead. Using ready-cooked lentils is a quick way to add more protein to the salad but you can use 190g dried lentils and cook them yourself, following the packet instructions.

Preparation time: 10 minutes, plus marinating
Cooking time: 6 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 medium aubergines
Olive oil, for frying
500g cooked puy lentils
100g mixed salad leaves
4 spring onions, chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and diced
30g pomegranate seeds
Handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves

For the marinade
3 tbsp tamari soy sauce
1 tsp baharat spice mix
Juice of 2 pomegranates (about 120ml)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp xylitol
1 tsp olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper

Method:

Slice the aubergine into rounds about 1cm thick and place in a shallow dish. Mix together the all the marinade ingredients and pour over the aubergines. Place in the fridge to marinate for at least 2–3 hours, preferably overnight.

Heat a griddle pan or frying pan over a medium-high heat and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Remove the aubergine from the marinade and reserve the marinade. Add the aubergine slices to the hot pan and cook in batches for 2–3 minutes each side until golden.

Place the cooked and drained lentils in a pan and add the reserved marinade. Warm though over a low heat for a minute or two. .

Arrange the salad greens on four plates and top with the lentils, aubergine slices, spring onions, red chilli, pomegranate seeds and chopped coriander.

Nutrition per serving:

187 kcal; 11.9g protein; 3.6g fat; 0.5g saturated fat; 27.3g carbohydrates; 6.7g sugars

Recipe Extract from Go Lean Vegan by Christine Bailey, published by Yellow Kite, £9.99