Grilled Aubergine Linguine

Slice the aubergine in half lengthways. Slice each half lengthways into four long strips. Slice lengthways along each strip of aubergine to remove a bit of the white spongy part. Now cut the aubergine widthways into (roughly) 1cm chunks.

Mix the aubergine with 1 tbsp of olive oil and ¼ tsp of salt and spread on a baking tray. Put this on the shelf closest to the grill and cook the aubergine for around 20 mins, or until it is soft and slightly crispy around the edges.

Fry off the onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and chilli flakes in 1 tbsp of olive oil on medium heat until the onion is soft. Tip: This should take around 5 mins - be careful not to let the ingredients burn. When the onion is soft add the chorizo and cook for a further 2 mins.

Cook your pasta in the boiling water with ½ tsp of salt for around 10 mins, or until the pasta is ‘al dente’ (i.e. there is just a hint of firmness left in the middle), then drain.

Add the tinned tomatoes to the garlic, onion and chorizo mixture, together with ½ tsp of sugar (if you have some) and ½ tsp of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Bubble away the mixture on a medium-low heat for around 5 mins until you have a nice thick sauce.

Now that your pasta sauce has thickened up, stir in the grilled aubergine.

Next, drop your drained pasta into the pan with the tomato sauce and sprinkle over the parsley. If you’re feeling up to the task, then toss the ingredients together to mix them. If you don’t fancy redecorating the kitchen, then you can always stir the ingredients instead.