Elisa Rossi’s red pesto traybake veg salad recipe

“This is one of my favourite speedy dinners. It’s jam-packed with robust flavours, vegetables and texture, and the red pepper pesto might just be my number-one type of pesto,” says Elisa Rossi, author of Happy Skin Kitchen.

“It’s fresh, tangy, creamy and incredibly versatile. You can also use it as a pasta sauce, as a dip or in sandwiches. This salad is also not lacking in skin-nourishing minerals, vitamins and antioxidants, thanks to the wide array of vibrant vegetables. It’s filling and satiating, thanks to the high-fibre content and the chickpeas, which also bring a good dose of zinc, a wonderful mineral to help keep those breakouts at bay.

“It’s also a great lunchbox-friendly salad: just stir the pesto through the vegetables but keep the rocket on the side so it stays crispy and fresh.”

Red pesto traybake veg salad

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)

1 courgette, sliced
1 small aubergine, cut into small cubes
1 red onion, cut into wedges
½tsp smoked paprika
½tbsp dried oregano a drizzle of olive oil
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
150g cherry tomatoes, whole
60g pitted olives, sliced
2tbsp small capers
10g fresh basil, roughly chopped
10g fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
40g rocket, to serve

For the red pesto:
1 large pointed red pepper (about 170g), whole
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil + extra for brushing
40g walnuts
1 garlic clove
1tbsp lemon juice
1tbsp nutritional yeast
3 sundried tomatoes

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7.

2. Put the courgette, aubergine and red onion on a large baking tray. Make sure there is plenty of space, as you will need to add the chickpeas and tomatoes later. Sprinkle over the smoked paprika, dried oregano and a pinch each of salt and pepper, and drizzle everything generously with olive oil. Put the pointed red pepper on a separate tray. Brush it with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Put both trays into the oven. Roast the pointed pepper for 25 minutes, until soft and squishy. Roast the veggies for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and add the drained chickpeas and cherry tomatoes to the tray. Toss them around so they get evenly coated, and add a little bit more olive oil and salt if needed. Put the tray back into the oven for the final 10 minutes.

4. To make the pesto, remove the stalk, seeds and skin from the roasted pepper. Put the flesh into a food processor with the rest of the pesto ingredients and blitz everything together until smooth and creamy.

5. Add the olives, capers, basil and parsley to the tray of roasted veg. Gently mix everything together.

6. To assemble your salad, arrange the rocket on a large serving dish, then add the roasted veg and chickpea mix. Drizzle over the pesto and mix everything together before serving.

Happy Skin Kitchen by Elisa Rossi is published by Thorsons, priced £25. Photography by Elisa Rossi. Available January 5.