Eat Well for Less' aubergine chilli traybake recipe

This Eat Well for Less' Aubergine Chilli Traybake will be a guaranteed hit with the adults and kids alike. Aubergines are really good at taking on flavours, and here they’re mixed with traditional chilli con carne flavours, chickpeas and red kidney beans, then topped with more aubergines to make a delicious one-pot chilli traybake. Finished with bubbling melted cheese, this is a hearty vegetarian dish. Any leftovers can be eaten cold or reheated in a microwave oven. To reheat, place one portion on a suitable heatproof plate, cover with a piece of kitchen paper and heat on high for 3 minutes until hot through. If not piping hot, heat on high for a further 20 seconds at a time until hot through, then serve.

Ingredients

• 3 aubergines
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp mild chilli powder
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 3 tbsp tomato purée
• 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 400g tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 80g light mature Cheddar cheese, grated
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/Gas 7.
2. Roughly chop one aubergine and place in a large, ovenproof dish or baking tin. Add the onion, garlic, thyme, cumin, chilli powder, salt and tomato purée and mix together well, getting your hands in to ensure everything is coated in the spices.
3. Add the chickpeas, kidney beans and tinned tomatoes. Pour 150ml of cold water into the empty tomato tin, swirl it around and add to the dish/tin, then mix once more.
4. Cut the remaining two aubergines in half lengthways and place, skin-side down, on a chopping board. Score the flesh in a criss-cross pattern using the tip of a sharp knife, then place them, skin-side down, in a single layer on top of the bean mixture. Drizzle the scored flesh with the olive oil and season with black pepper.
5. Cover the whole dish/tin with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes until the aubergines are tender. Preheat the grill to high.
6. Remove the foil from the aubergine dish/tin and scatter the cheese evenly over the top. Place under the hot grill for 3–4 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Serve immediately.
7. Cool any leftovers, then transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Extracted from Eat Well for Less: Every Day by Jo Scarratt-Jones (BBC Books, £14.99). Photography by Andrew Burton.