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

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Put the porcini in a large heatproof jug, pour over 1 litre just-boiled water and soak for 30 minutes. Cut the leeks lengthways and then into ½-cm slices. Wash the leeks well in a bowl of warm water, then rinse and repeat. Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Pour the olive oil into a large ovenproof dish or roasting tin and heat in the oven for 5-10 minutes. Carefully add the aubergine cubes to the hot oil. Season well with salt and pepper, add the diluted rose harissa and toss everything together. 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. Recipes to prep at the weekend for the week ahead – again, a really practical approach based on how we really live our busy lives.

Next, cut out decorations from the pastry scraps. (I like holly leaves and berries, but be creative!) Brush the parcels all over with the remaining egg wash and add the pastry decorations. Brush again with more egg wash. Bake in the hot oven for 30–40 minutes or until the pastry is shiny and golden. You’ll need 2-3 aubergines for this recipe, and if you make this 2-3 days ahead and chill it, the flavours will intensify beautifully. The meaty aubergine makes this Greek classic what it is.Which variety? Baby Thai aubergines are harder to come by, but they are available online at Thai grocers (see below). 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. 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. Greek-style yoghurt (cheaper natural yoghurt can also be used but will need to be strained for the egg recipe) Return the dish or tin to the oven and set a timer for 15 minutes. When the time is up, stir the contents to make sure all sides of the aubergine cubes are roasting. Set the timer again for another 15 minutes and return to the oven.

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. She is a judge on numerous panels in 2018, including Veggie Magazine Awards, Great British Food Awards (alongside Raymond Blanc, Michael Roux, Nathan Outlaw, Mark Hix, Rosemary Shrager, Dan Doherty and more) and a head judge for the highly regarded Great Taste Awards. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and a pinch of sea salt and cook for 5 minutes until slightly softened, stirring occasionally.Which variety? We find the best aubergines to use for this dish are the fat, round, Italian aubergines, but it will also work brilliantly with the stripy purple variety or your standard aubergine. 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. Remove the dish or tin from the oven, stir in the grated lemon zest and leave to cool for 15 minutes. Adjust the seasoning. We meandered all over the part of Devon that sits to the south and southeast of Dartmoor National Park, spending time in towns, villages and on beaches, in woodland and coves, travelling on foot, by car and even steam train. It was the perfect mini break and I want to share some of my favourite finds with you… Restaurants Emilia, Ashburton