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I have such a back-log of recipes to make! It was my birthday recently and I received a bunch of new cookbooks including Yotam Ottolenghi’s new one ‘Plenty’ which is just gold! But as I had a few random veggies in the fridge and we are waiting for our first delivery of a fruit and veg box, I wanted to try and use up as much as I could.

I made this salad up myself after reading a recipe for a giant couscous and aubergine side salad in an issue of BBC Good Food mag. I made a few amendments and bulked it up a bit to make a main dish for 2 that was the perfect way to kick off National Vegetarian Week (in the UK).

National Vegetarian Week (NVW) is the annual awareness-raising campaign promoting inspirational vegetarian food and the benefits of a meat-free lifestyle. Celebrated by the Vegetarian Society since 1992, the Week is now an established event that gets bigger and better every year.

I love how simple vegetarian dishes can be so tasty. This one is definitely one to make again!

Ingredients:

• 1 aubergine, sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 150g cherry tomatoes (but you can use more)
• half a red onion, sliced
• 150g quinoa
• juice from 1 lemon
• 150g feta
• 100g baby spinach leaves
• handful basil leaves, roughly chopped

Method:

1. Heat oven to 200C/Gas 6
2. Place the slices of aubergine in a roasting tray, drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil, and roast for 15 minutes
3. Season the cherry tomatoes and red onion, and add to the roasting dish for a further 10 minutes
4. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions
5. Combine the lemon juice with 1 tbsp of olive oil for the dressing
6. Place the spinach leaves in a bowl and toss with half the dressing
7. Add the quinoa to the spinach bowl and toss with the remaining dressing.
8. Carefully stir through the roasted veggies, crumbled feta and chopped basil leaves

1. Corn and Aduki Bean Quinoa Salad
2. Low carb, vegetarian lasagne
3. Black bean and Quinoa chilli