Belazu sent me a jar of their spicy shawarma paste and I immediately thought of roasting aubergines and chick peas with it. To that I added their forbidden black rice and a little salad and garlicky yogurt it became a shawarma bowl. You can also serve this in a warm flatbread wrap with tahini or humus instead of the rice. It’s Middle Eastern and spicy, creamy, salty and super healthy.

Recipe

Serves 2-3 but you can multiply the recipe for more people

Ingredients

1 aubergine
a 400g tin of chick peas, drained.
2 tablespoons of Belazu shawarma paste
1 cup pp of Forbidden black rice, cooked according to the instructions on the packet
1/4 cucumber slices
2 spring onions chopped or shredded (optional)
a sprig of mint , whole leaves and chopped
1 lime cut in half to serve
3 tablespoons of olive oil
an optional couple of teaspoons of maple syrup if you want it a little sweeter
salt and pepper
A couple of green chilli peppers that are pickled (I get mine in Sainsbury’s)

Sauce

Sesame seeds

1 cup of Greek yogurt or plant based yogurt
1 minced clove of garlic
Pinch of salt

How:

Preheat the oven to 200c or 400f.

While you cook the rice, mix the olive oil with the shawarma paste in a bowl, then cut the stalk off of the aubergine and chop it into strips about half an inch thick and two inches long. Place these in to a heatproof roasting pan, I use a large non stick frying pan, and add the drained chick peas. Tip the Shawarma and olive oil mixture over the top and massage into the aubergine and chick peas so they are evenly coated. Roast till the aubergine is going a bit brown and is tender, for about 25 minutes, stirring half way through.

Meanwhile, chop or slice the cucumber and set aside ready for assembling the final dish.

In a small bowl mix the yogurt with the garlic and a tiny pinch of salt, and set aside.

Assemble the shawarma by putting the rice in a bowl and spooning over the roasted aubergine and chick peas. Then add the cucumber, spring onions, a dollop of the garlicky yogurt and sprinkle with the sesame seeds and mint leaves and check for seasoning.

I shop at:
Waitrose
Sainsbury’s
Tesco
Lidl