Charred prawns, eggplant and chickpeas with roast tomato vinaigrette

SERVES 4

Here, roasting the tomatoes first brings out their sweetness. Calamari or baby octopus would work well in place of the prawns. 2 eggplant (about 600gm), cut into 2cm dice

2 garlic cloves, finely crushed 1 tbsp dried oregano

160 ml olive oil

800 gm canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

¾ cup (firmly packed) oregano, plus extra to serve

600 gm peeled uncooked prawns, deveined, tails intact

2 tsp dried chilli flakes ROASTED TOMATO VINAIGRETTE 300 gm cherry tomatoes 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced ½ tsp caster sugar

80 ml (⅓ cup) extra-virgin olive oil

2 long red chillies, coarsely chopped

Finely grated rind of 1 lemon, 1½ tbsp juice 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, or to taste

1 Preheat oven to 200°C. For vinaigrette, combine tomatoes, garlic, sugar and half the oil in an oven dish, season to taste, and roast until slightly caramelised (15-20 minutes). Transfer to a food processor, add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Season to taste.

2 Meanwhile, toss eggplant, garlic, dried oregano and 120ml oil in a separate oven dish to combine, season, and roast until eggplant is golden and tender (15-20 minutes). Transfer to a bowl, add chickpeas, oregano and half the vinaigrette, toss to combine and season to taste.

3 Heat a char-grill pan over high heat. Combine prawns in a bowl with chilli flakes and remaining olive oil and season to taste. Grill, turning once, until charred (2-3 minutes).

4 Top eggplant mixture with prawns, drizzle with a little remaining vinaigrette, top with extra oregano and serve with remaining vinaigrette.