Serves four to six

Ingredients

150ml olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

4 dried small red chillies, roughly chopped

1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 red peppers, cut into quarters, seeds removed

2 yellow peppers, cut into quarters, seeds removed

2 small courgettes, thinly sliced lengthways

2 small red onions, sliced into thick rounds

1 aubergine, cut into 1cm (½in) rounds

1 rustic round loaf, measuring about 25cm (10in) across

4 tbsp tapenade

1 small bunch fresh basil, leaves finely shredded

2 x 100g (4oz) balls mozzarella, very thinly sliced

40 g (1 1/2oz) wild rocket

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Place the olive oil in a shallow non-metallic dish and stir in the garlic, chilli and parsley, and season to taste. Add the peppers, courgettes and onions, and leave to marinate at room temperature for one hour if time allows. Toss the aubergines in the marinade at the last minute so that they don’t absorb too much of the oil. Arrange the vegetables on a griddle pan (or the grill rack over medium-hot coals) and cook for six to eight minutes until completely softened and richly coloured, turning regularly and lightly basting with any remaining marinade. Meanwhile, cut a 1cm (½in) slice off the top of the loaf. Hollow out the bread with your ?ngers (make breadcrumbs with the torn out bread for use in another recipe) to leave a case with walls about 1cm (½in) thick. Spread three tablespoons of the tapenade all around the inside and the remaining tablespoon on the lid underside.

As soon as the vegetables are cooked, remove them from the grill and layer them up inside the loaf, sprinkling each layer with basil and seasoning to taste. I would start with the aubergine, then the sliced mozzarella, the red peppers, yellow peppers, onions and courgettes. Top with the rocket, pressing it down gently. Replace the top of the loaf and wrap the whole thing tightly with a couple of layers of cling film. Place the filled loaf in the fridge overnight with something heavy sitting on top like a wooden board or a tray with unopened cans on top. The next day, allow the whole thing to come back to room temperature, then unwrap and cut into thick wedges to serve with plenty of paper napkins.