Chickpea and roasted eggplant salad

This salad is great for a barbecue and would work well with grilled fish such as barramundi or grilled lamb. The recipe is for quite a large amount so is great for when you have visitors or otherwise you could eat any remaining salad for lunch the next day.

Chickpea and roasted eggplant salad

• serves

  8

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 kg chickpeas
• 1 large eggplant
• olive oil
• sea salt and cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp roasted garlic
• 5 cloves garlic, shaved or julienne
• 1½ tsp finely chopped preserved lemon
• 2 celery hearts, chopped finely and the baby leaves added
• 3 tbsp baby capers, roughly chopped
• 450 ml lemon, mustard, garlic, sea salt, extra virgin oil, lemon juice and sherry vinegar vinaigrette 
• 8 green chillies, seeds removed, chopped
• 2 bunches tarragon, picked and ½ chopped over
• 1 bunch mint, picked and torn
• 2 bunches parsley, picked and torn
• 1 bunch chervil, picked

Soaking time: overnight

Instructions

Soak chickpeas overnight.

Drain chickpeas and cook in a large saucepan of water, simmering until tender.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 220ºC. Cut eggplant into thick discs, place in a bowl, drizzle over some olive oil and season. Place on heavy metal trays on non-stick paper and bake for 20-25 minutes or until tender.

Allow to cool slightly, cut in to quarters and leave at room temperature.

Mix hot chickpeas, garlic, preserved lemon, celery hearts, capers, vinaigrette and chillies in a large bowl. Taste and season.

Allow to cool slightly for a few minutes then add the tarragon, mint and parsley.

Stir through until evenly combined, top with the chervil and serve.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.