Calorie count: 261 or 309 with goat’s cheese

This is a premium version of the simple roast veg we endlessly sling in the oven with a ‘slug of olive oil ’. It amounts to a proper meal in itself, complete with sticky bits, gorgeous balsamic colour and bursts of spiced flavour. Personally, I’d include the goat’s cheese and save calories elsewhere; it’s too good to miss.

Serves two

½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp nigella seeds
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 Tbs olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
½ red chilli, finely chopped
1 red, 1 yellow, 1 orange pepper, sliced

Preheat oven to 220˚C/425˚F. In a small frying pan, gently dry – fry seeds, then add oil and onion and cook until softened. Add garlic and chilli and cook for a further 2 minutes. Place vegetables in a roasting pan and stir in the spiced onion mix, marjoram, lemon and balsamic, making sure that everything is well coated. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until caramelised and sticky. Serve with a peppery green salad, plus a shaving of Chèvre Basque and sweet pickled guindilla peppers.

These vibrant colours indicate plenty of beta carotene and other important antioxidants.