CHARGRILLED VEGETABLE LAYERED LOAF

Serves 4-6

150ml (¼pt) olive oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed 4 dried small red chillies, roughly chopped 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 small red peppers, cut into quarters, seeds removed 2 small yellow peppers, cut into quarters and seeds removed 2 small courgettes, thinly sliced lengthways 2 small red onions, sliced into thick rounds 1 aubergine, cut into 1cm (½in) rounds 1 rustic round loaf, about 25cm (10in) across 4 tbsp tapenade 1 small bunch of fresh basil leaves, finely shredded 2 x 100g (4oz) balls of buffalo mozzarella, thinly sliced 40g (1½oz) rocket 1 Place the olive oil in a shallow non-metallic dish and stir in the garlic, chillies and parsley. Season to taste. Add the peppers, courgettes and onions, and leave to marinate at room temperature for an hour, if time allows. Toss the aubergines in the marinade at the last minute so that they don’t absorb too much of the oil. 2 Arrange the marinated vegetables on a griddle pan. Cook them for 6-8 minutes, until they’re completely softened and richly coloured, turning them regularly and lightly basting with any remaining marinade. 3 Cut a 1cm (½in) slice off the top of the loaf. Hollow out the bread with your fingers (make breadcrumbs with the torn-out bread for use in another recipe) to leave a case with walls about 1cm (½in) thick. Spread 3 tablespoons of the tapenade all around the inside of the hollowedout loaf. Spread the final tablespoon on the underside of the loaf’s lid. 4 As soon as the vegetables are cooked, remove them from the grill and layer them up inside the loaf, sprinkling each layer with basil and seasoning to taste. I would start with the roasted aubergine, then add the sliced mozzarella, the roasted red and yellow peppers, and the roasted onions and courgettes. Top with the rocket, pressing it down gently. 5 Replace the top of the loaf and wrap the whole thing tightly with a couple of layers of cling film and a final layer of tinfoil. Place the filled loaf in the fridge overnight with something heavy sitting on top, such as a wooden board or a tray with unopened tins on top. 6 For lunchboxes, unwrap it and cut it into thick wedges.