Elly Pear's Let's Eat: Simple, delicious food for everyone, every day

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If spending a few hours meditatively rolling up little aubergine parcels sounds like your idea of heaven, come hither. These rolls, also known as involtini di melanzane alla parmigiana, are as pleasing to make as they are to eat. There are two top rules when cooking aubergines: do not skimp on the oil (you want it to be golden and silky when fried or roasted, not charred and dry, which happens if not enough oil is used). Aubergines are like a sponge, mopping up flavour, so don’t leave your sponge to dry and wither! Which leads us to the second rule: do NOT undercook it – aubergine is most pleasant when its interior is completely soft – stab each piece with a knife to be sure, and save yourself from any rubbery textural nightmares. To salt, or not to salt? Earth Food Love in Totnes was the UK’s first organic zero waste shop. Buying exactly and only what you need avoids waste at all times but is especially important when self-catering. Elly has contributed to a wide range of publications both online and in print, including Waitrose Food, Olive Magazine, Stella Magazine, Sunday Times Magazine, Delicious, Sainsbury’s Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Root and Bone and The Pool and was the food columnist for Instyle Magazine for over a year. She has also contributed recipes to both Cook For Syria charity books and produced two e-books, Let’s Eat: Elly Pear’s Home Fridge Deli and Elly Pear’s Fast Days and Feast Days: Tips and recipes to reset your diet for the New Year.

I still think it must be some kind of magic that makes this recipe so delicious with so few ingredients. The texture is absolutely spot on. The frittata itself feels substantial, but is soft and light to eat. The flavours are punchy enough to make this a dish in its own right, but I am sure that you could swap out the nigella seeds for other herbs or spices if you wanted it to accompany something else on the plate.Which variety? We like to make this one with regular aubergines or stripy purple aubergines which will give you long thin slices. Meanwhile, prepare the veg for the noodles. Cut a small slice off the base of the pak choi to separate the leaves. Wash and shake dry. Leave smaller leaves whole and slice the bigger leaves widthways into 2cm-wide pieces. Thinly slice the red pepper. When the tofu is close to the endof its cooking time, place a wok over a high heat until very hot, drizzle in the oil, add the prepared vegetables and toss for 2 minutes or until slightly softened but still retaining a bit of bite. Take the roast radishes and onion out of the oven and slice the radishes into halves. Mix the onion into the egg mix and reserve the radishes. Which variety? This recipe will work with any variety of aubergine, but skinny Indian aubergines or the regular globe variety will keep things budget. Elly is a Columnist for Waitrose Weekend, where her recipe column appears monthly. She has also contributed to a wide range of publications both online and in print, including Waitrose Food Magazine, Olive Magazine, Stella Magazine, Sunday Times Magazine, Delicious, Sainsbury’s Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Root and Bone and The Pool and was the food columnist for Instyle Magazine for over a year. She has also contributed recipes to both Cook For Syria charity books and produced two e-books, Let’s Eat: Elly Pear’s Home Fridge Deli and Elly Pear’s Fast Days and Feast Days: Tips and recipes to reset your diet for the New Year.

The quintessential baked aubergine dish would have to be a melanzane parmigiana – and who can resist the moreish combination of silky fried aubergines layered up with a killer tomato sauce and parmesan? This recipe uses a béchamel on top, but if you prefer a less heavy version, try our lighter parmigiana which uses mozzarella for ooziness. Or go even bigger and opt for our aubergine parmigiana sandwich. Add the wine, turn up the heat to high and bring to the boil. Use a spatula to scrape up all the flavour from the bottom of the pan and stir well. Add the bay leaves, tinned tomatoes, passata, lentils, oregano and pul biber.It’s really very easy to spend your time and money with small, independent businesses in this part of the world, and I love it for that, and so many more reasons. Elly is passionate about Bristol and supporting the independent businesses and friends that have supported her and that have become regulars both as suppliers and customers at The Pear Cafe. She will continue to live in Bristol and split her time between there and London for work and play. This recipe was developed by Vivek Singh as part of his 20th anniversary celebration meal – and it’s a marvel. The sweet peanuts compliment the bitter savouriness of the aubergines perfectly and the tamarind paste adds delightful sourness. It’s a wonderful side dish or a vegan main and it’s something you may not have tried before. I always put potato into my regular egg frittatas, but the gram flour used here (to make this dish protein-rich for vegans) can be quite dense so keeping the filling potato-free makes it a little lighter. Timings

She has appeared as a judge on numerous panels, including Veggie Magazine Awards, Great British Food Awards (alongside Raymond Blanc, Michael Roux, Nathan Outlaw, Mark Hix, Rosemary Shrager and more) and appeared on the highly regarded Great Taste Awards head judges panel for the last two years. Excited yet? Take a dive into our best-ever aubergine recipes and discover the possibilities for yourself.. 21 best aubergine recipes and the aubergine to use for it…What I thought: As someone who loves cooking, but routinely finds herself cooking variations on the same few dishes, it is always thrilling to find something I know has instantly become a new staple favourite. What do you get if you combine an aubergine parmigiana with everyone’s favourite Calabrian hot and spicy sausage paste? This aubergine al forno with ‘nduja! It’s clever: the milky mozzarella cools the hot and intense sausage beautifully. Who’s the author? Elly Curshen – also known as Elly Pear – is the the author of best-selling cookbook, Fast Days & Feast Days, cookery tutor and authority on all things delicious. Recently named one of the UK’s top 20 Veggie Heroes, Elly Pear champions cooking from scratch and greener ways of eating. Put the porcini in a large heatproof jug, pour over 1 litre just-boiled water and soak for 30 minutes.