Fast Recipes

Charred prawns, eggplant and chickpeas with roast tomato vinaigrette

A simple but elegant dish that works beautifully as either a main or a side.

By Max Adey
  • 5 mins preparation
  • 25 mins cooking
  • Serves 4
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Here, roasting the tomatoes first brings out their sweetness. Calamari or baby octopus would work well in place of the prawns.

Ingredients

  • 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 oregano, plus extra to serve (firmly packed)
  • 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 extra-virgin olive oil (⅓ cup)
  • 2 long red chillies, coarsely chopped
  • Finely grated rind of 1 lemon, 1½ tbsp juice
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, or to taste

Method

  • 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.