Iraqi Aubergine Pine Nut Salad

I was picking up my kids from a friend's house last week, and I saw her putting together this beautiful dish for her dinner party, so I stayed until I'd seen it through to the end, scribbled a few notes, and then ate far too much of it! She was given this recipe from her mother-in-law from Baghdad, and I have played with it a little but this is utterly delicious and so easy, the perfect addition to any table for entertaining or just a quick lunch on the run.

• 2 medium aubergines
• 1 lemon juiced
• 1 red onion, chopped finely
• handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200g cherry tomatoes
• 2 tbsp pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 180. Prick the aubergine a couple of times with a fork (they will explode if you don't, I've blown up many of these poor vegetables) and roast in the oven, skin on, as is, for about 45 minutes until very soft to the touch. Remove from oven and leave to cool slightly before peeling. Chop the flesh, tip into a serving bowl, and squeeze the lemon juice over to prevent it browning. Chop the cherry tomatoes and add to the aubergine with the onions, parsley and a spritz of oil, and se salt. Cover and leave to macerate for 30 mins to 2 hours, the flavours develop better at room temp so don't fridge it. As you are serving sprinkle over the pine nuts, and an extra grind of black pepper.