Aubergine, tomato & halloumi pie

This is a great midweek pie for the family. It’s something a little different using very familiar ingredients. Serve it with a handful of salad leaves – it really doesn’t need anything else.

SERVES 4-8 PREP 25 mins COOK 1 hr EASY V G

6 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil

2 large aubergines, cut into thin rounds

1 large red onion, halved and sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp ground coriander

400g can chopped tomatoes

1½ tbsp pomegranate molasses or good balsamic vinegar small bunch mint, leaves chopped

270g block halloumi, cut into 8 slices

500g block all-butter puff pastry

50g pine nuts, toasted

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 Heat 2 tbsp oil in your largest frying pan. Cook the aubergine slices for about 5 mins on each side until golden brown and soft – you’ll need to add more oil between batches. Remove from the pan and set aside.

2 Fry the onion in the remaining oil until soft, about 8 mins. Add the garlic and cook for another min or 2. Stir in the coriander, chopped tomatoes, molasses and some seasoning. Simmer for 15 mins until you have a thick, rich sauce. Stir in the mint leaves. 3 Heat a drizzle more oil in a pan and fry the halloumi slices for

2 mins on each side until golden brown. Set aside with the aubergine. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. 4 Roll out the pastry to a rectangle, 50 x 25cm and cut into two squares (don’t worry about all the edges being neat at this stage). Place one on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Layer the tomato sauce, aubergine, halloumi and a scattering of pine nuts (in that order) onto the middle of the pastry, leaving a border around the edge, about 1.5cm. Keep layering until the ingredients have all been used up. Brush the edges with a little egg.

5 Roll the second sheet a little larger, then lift over the pie and press down the edges to seal. Neaten the edges with a knife, then brush the whole pie with more egg. Score fine lines over the top with your knife to decorate, making sure you don’t pierce the pastry. Cut a small cross in the centre of the pie and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 30-35 mins until golden brown.

GOOD TO KNOW calcium • fibre • 2 of 5-a-day PER SERVING (8) 540 kcals • fat 39g • saturates 15g • carbs 28g • sugars 8g • fibre 7g • protein 16g • salt 1.6g

Add roasted peppers, courgettes, mushrooms or any other seasonal veg to this versatile vegetarian pie