A fresh, roasted vegetable salsa is a welcome accompaniment to a whole variety of meals, from kebabs to jacket potatoes. It makes a great addition to salads, or can be served simply with pitta bread and hummus as a light, but extremely tasty lunch.

This salsa takes it a step further with the inclusion of oven-roasted nectarines, which add a beautiful and well-balanced sweetness to the dish. Although it takes a while to roast the veg, there really isn’t much work to this dish at all, just a little chopping and a little mixing and you’re good to go. It is best made in advance and served at room temperature, but you can also chill it if that is your preference.

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Prep time: 15 minutes. Cooking time: 35-40 minutes, plus cooling time

Serves 2-4

Gluten-Free

Ingredients:

1 medium aubergine, cut into large dices

2 yellow peppers, deseeded and cut into large dices

2 nectarines, stoned and diced

½ bulb garlic, obtained by cutting a cross section right through the middle of the of the whole bulb, so that you cut right through each clove

4 tbsp olive oil

A generous pinch of salt

1 tsp dried oregano

4-5 salad tomatoes, diced

½ cucumber, diced

100g good quality black olives, pitted and roughly chopped

A handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

A good glug of olive oil

A good glug of balsamic vinegar

An extra pinch of salt, if desired.

Method:

Preheat the oven to gas 7/220C/425F.

Put the aubergine, peppers, nectarines and ½ garlic bulb into a large mixing bowl. Pour over the 4 tbsp of olive oil, then add the pinch of salt and the dried oregano. Use your hands or a spoon to mix together, until the fruit and veg are fully coated, then tip the contents out onto a baking tray or roasting dish. Cook near the top of the oven for 35-40 minutes, until the veg is cooked through and slightly charred. Allow to cool for about 30 minutes, then squeeze the garlic cloves out of their shells and discard the empty shells.

Transfer the veg back into the mixing bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients. Now mix the ingredients together using your hands. You’ll want to gently squeeze the veg between your fingers as you’re doing this to fully amalgamate the flavours. Set aside for an hour to allow the flavours to infuse, then serve with any of the above suggestions.