This month I am bringing you another delicious plant-powered recipe to enjoy. This is another recipe from Dr Alan Desmond's book 'The Plant-Based Diet Revolution'.

There are 12 different plants in this dish, but the real star is the aubergine. Baking it whole allows the inside to soften beautifully while the skin blisters in the heat of the oven. Each serving with give you a whopping 17g of fibre and 20g of protein. As many of you know, I have coeliac disease, and so I would swap the couscous for either quinoa or brown rice. Enjoy.

Serves: 2

Time: 45 minutes

Plant score: 12

Fibre per serving: 17g

Protein per serving: 20g

Gluten free: just replace the couscous with a gluten-free grain like quinoa, brown rice, buckwheat or millet

1 large aubergine

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (optional)

1 red onion, sliced

1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

50g (½ cup) green olives, roughly chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

1½ tbsp harissa

1 x 400g (14oz) can chopped tomatoes or passata

200ml (¾ cup) vegetable stock

100g (1 cup) baby spinach

1 lemon

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE BRAISED CHICKPEAS

1 x 400g (14oz) can chickpeas

Pinch of saffron (optional)

½ cinnamon stick

60g (⅓ cup) wholegrain couscous

About 100ml (½ cup) boiling water

Handful of parsley, chopped

Few fresh mint leaves, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 220oC/Fan 180oC/400oF/Gas 8. Put the aubergine on a baking tray and place in the oven for 30 minutes, turning once or twice, until it is soft and collapsing and the skin is blistered. Pinch it with a pair of tongs to check. Set aside to cool slightly. 

2. Warm the olive oil (if using) or a few tablespoons water in a large saucepan, then add the onion and red pepper. Fry over a medium heat for 15 minutes, until soft and starting to colour. Add a dash more water if the mixture looks like catching.

3. Meanwhile, tip the chickpeas and their liquid into a large saucepan. Add the saffron (if using) and cinnamon and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for 20 minutes, until the chickpeas are very soft and starting to break down.

4. When the onion mixture is ready, stir in the garlic, olives, cumin, paprika and harissa. Fry for 1 minute before adding the tomatoes and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or so.

5. When the chickpeas are ready, stir in the couscous and add the boiling water, just enough to cover everything. Cover the pan and set aside for 5–10 minutes, until the couscous has plumped up and become tender.

6. When the aubergines are cool enough to handle, peel away and discard the burnt skin; don’t be too fussy, the odd fleck adds a bit of smokiness. Roughly chop the flesh and stir it into the stew along with the spinach. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and a squeeze or two of lemon juice. 

7. Use a fork to fluff up the couscous and chickpeas. Stir in the parsley and mint just before serving with the stew.

Recipes extracted from The Plant-Based Diet Revolution written by Dr Alan Desmond with 80 vegan recipes by Bob Andrew, published in hardback and ebook by Yellow Kite. The photographer credit is © Dan Jones