Spanish vegetable stew

Here's another autumn dish - filling and delicious, but with a few flavours of summer in there. And it's packed with vegetables. Aubergines seem to be cheap and abundant at the moment, and this is one of my favourite ways to use them. The other good thing about this dish is that it doesn't require much preparation, just a bit of time in the oven while you get on with something else.

This is based roughly on a recipe from the Eagle in Farringdon, which was arguably the first London gastropub back in the early 1990s. I think I have been making this recipe, on and off, for the last 15 years or so.

I've called it a stew but it's also hovering near the salad zone, especially if you eat it at room temperature. I slightly prefer it hot but either will be pretty good.

Ingredients

Serves 4

Two red peppers
Two aubergines
Two courgettes
Two to four potatoes (use an all-purpose or floury potato, not new - two if they are jacket potato size, three or four if they are smaller)
Two to four onions, unpeeled (as with the potatoes, depends on size)
1 bunch fresh basil, roughly chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method 

Put the whole onions, aubergines, potates and peppers in a roasting tin and cook them for 30 minutes (check them after 25, but the potatoes and onions may need longer) or until they are all soft.

Slice the courgettes into medium rounds, coat them in 1 tbsp of the olive oil and cook them in a separate tray for about 25 minutes or until soft but not burned. Take out any vegetables which are in danger of burning and set them aside while the rest finish cooking. 

As soon as the vegtables are cool enough to handle, discard the aubergine and pepper stems, the pepper seeds, and peel and trim the onions. Cut everything into rough chunks (I sometimes find it easier to do this with a pair of scissors than a knife).

Mix together with the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil and half the basil. Season to taste. Serve with the rest of the basil scattered on top and some crusty bread on the side, if you like. You can eat it hot straight away or later at room temperature.

Roasted vegetable lasagne with goats' cheese

It's harvest time - or at least, so the Fortnum and Mason shop window tells me (I was walking past, not doing my shopping there, I hasten to add). Living in a city, you can feel disconnected from these landmarks in the food year, these rural rituals. But even I can spot all the cheap courgettes in the market, and if you have an allotment or vegetable garden, you're probably rushing to use them before they turn into marrows.

A roasted vegetable lasagne feels like a fittingly celebratory dish, stuffed full with shiny plump vegetables - not just courgettes but aubergines, onions, peppers and tomatoes. I've been making it for years. Actually, it was probably one of the first proper dishes I made without a recipe, and I've loved it ever since.

Griddled courgettes with goats' cheese, couscous and beans

I confess to a slight love affair with griddled courgettes at the moment. Courgettes seem to be around in abundance, and griddling them in long strips gives them both sweetness and interesting charred notes.

With the help of some frozen vegetables, this easy dish took me less than 20 minutes to put together - ideal for a quick dinner after work.

Bruschetta of courgettes and mozzarella

The best thing about Italian food is its simplicity, its willingness to put just a few good ingredients centre stage and do as little as possible to them.

I'm not sure whether an Italian would recognise this dish, but it feels very Italian to me in both ingredients and spirit.

This dish was inspired by some excellent bread (bought at Herne Hill farmers' market). The toppings are deliberately chosen to let the taste of the bread show through - I didn't want any flavours that would dominate, like roasted tomatoes or olives or garlic. I was using a walnut sourdough bread, and courgettes also go really well with walnuts, but you could make this dish with any quality loaf.

Courgettes are in abundance at this time of year. This dish seems just right for a summer's day or evening - as a starter, a light lunch, or even a more substantial meal if you have a couple of slices and maybe a salad on the side.