roasted aubergine & chickpea salad with harissa cashew cream

This is one of those salads that looks like it came from your favourite restaurant, but is secretly so easy to throw together at home. Crisp-edged aubergine and golden chickpeas are roasted until caramelised and deeply savoury, then piled generously over a silky, creamy harissa and cashew sauce with just the right hit of lime.

Finished with crumbled feta, fresh spring onions and a scattering of chilli flakes, it’s smoky, creamy, spicy and bright all at once — every forkful has something going on. It’s the kind of dish you bring to the table and everyone goes quiet for a second.

For a vegan version, simply leave out the feta or swap it for a good plant-based alternative — it’s just as delicious.

Serves 4 & takes 35 minutes to cook

Ingredients

For the salad

• 2 large aubergines, cut into bite-sized chunks

• 1x 400g can of chickpeas, drained

• 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika

• 100g feta (optional, see notes above)

• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced

• Pinch of chilli flakes

• Olive oil

• Salt and pepper

For the harissa cashew dip

• 200g cashews

• 2-3 large tablespoons of harissa paste (or less depending on how spicy your harissa paste is, we use Belazu rose harissa paste for the best results)

• 180ml almond milk

• 1 garlic clove, peeled

• Juice of 1 lime

• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Place the cashews in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak for at least 10 minutes in order to soften.

2. Preheat the oven to 190C, fan setting.

3. Place the aubergine chunks and drained chickpeas into a large baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, the paprika and a good pinch of salt. Mix well until all of the aubergine chunks are coated in olive oil (if not, add a splash more), and cook for 30 minutes, or until the aubergines turn soft.

4. While the aubergines are cooking, drain the cashews and place into a powerful blender (we use a NutriBullet). Add the rest of the cashew dip ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy.

5. Spoon the creamy harissa dip onto the base of a serving plate and top with the roasted aubergines and chickpeas.

6. Crumble the feta over the top and sprinkle with sliced spring onions. Top with a pinch of chilli flakes and some pepper before serving.