Roasted Aubergine and Chickpea Grain Bowl

Ingredients

• 200g quinoa, rinsed
• 400ml vegetable stock
• 2 large aubergines, cut into 3cm chunks
• 2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1½ tsp ground cumin
• 1½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 4 tbsp tahini
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
• 4 tbsp ice-cold water
• 80g pomegranate seeds, to serve
• 1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves roughly torn, to serve
• small handful of fresh mint leaves, to serve
• 30g toasted flaked almonds, to serve
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
• warm flatbreads, to serve
• cucumber and mint yoghurt, to serve
• rose harissa, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C fan. Tip the aubergine chunks onto one large baking tray and the drained chickpeas onto another — pat the chickpeas thoroughly dry with kitchen paper. Wet chickpeas steam; dry chickpeas crisp.
2. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil with the cumin, smoked paprika, ground coriander and chilli flakes, then stir in the grated garlic. Bloom the spices in the oil for a minute as you work — raw ground spices taste dusty, but the moment they meet warm oil they wake up and smell of themselves. Season the oil generously with salt and pepper.
3. Toss the aubergine in two-thirds of the spiced oil and spread in a single layer with real space between the chunks — crowd the tray and they'll sweat into a grey heap instead of bronzing. Toss the chickpeas in the remaining oil and spread out on the second tray.
4. Roast both trays for 30–35 minutes, turning the aubergine once halfway, until the aubergine is deeply golden and collapsing at the edges and the chickpeas rattle on the tray, crisp and lightly charred. The garlic is in the oil here, so watch the edges of the aubergine in the last 5 minutes — pull the tray if anything threatens to go past pale gold to bitter brown.
5. Meanwhile, put the quinoa and stock in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 12–15 minutes until the stock is absorbed and the little tails have unfurled from the grains — that's your doneness tell. Off the heat, leave covered to steam for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Taste and season — quinoa needs more salt than you think.
6. While the quinoa steams, whisk the tahini with the lemon juice and grated garlic in a bowl. It will seize and look broken — don't panic. Trickle in the ice-cold water a tablespoon at a time, whisking hard, and it will loosen into a pale, ripple-able sauce. Taste, season, taste again — it should be lemony, savoury, and pourable off the spoon.
7. Divide the warm quinoa between four bowls and pile on the roasted aubergine and the spiced chickpeas, scraping in any crisp bits and spiced oil left on the trays.
8. Drizzle generously with the lemon tahini, scatter over the pomegranate seeds, torn parsley and mint leaves and the toasted flaked almonds. Tuck a lemon wedge into each bowl and serve with warm flatbreads, a spoonful of cucumber and mint yoghurt and a smear of rose harissa alongside.