Sun-kissed vegetables from the south of France… home-made pesto… oh, how colourful and delicious life can be! We guarantee that these Provençal vegetable towers will be a smash hit with your guests.

Ingredients
1 courgette
1 yellow pepper
2 large tomatoes
1 aubergine
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
1 bunch of basil
1 small clove of garlic
30 g roasted salted almonds, chopped
30 g grated parmesan

Preparation
Preparation time: 40 minutes

First up are the vegetables. Wash the courgette, and chop it into slices which are about five millimetres thick. Quarter the pepper, wash it, and roast it in the oven at top heat until the skin turns black and it bubbles. Remove the skin. Wash the tomatoes, and chop them into thin slices. Would you like another slice? Sure you would! Wash the aubergine, and chop it into thin slices. Add a little bit of salt.

Things are hotting up: Fry the courgette in olive oil, until it is golden brown. Rinse the salt from the aubergine, let it drain on kitchen towel, and then fry it in olive oil until it is golden brown. Next, spread all the vegetables on a large plate, and season with salt and pepper.

Now for the pesto: First, pluck three basil leaves from the stems. Put the basil, along with the garlic, a pinch of salt and 200 millilitres of olive oil, into a tall container and purée with a hand mixer, to form a green oil. Add some chopped almonds and parmesan, and your pesto is ready!

Finally: Coat the spiced vegetable slices with a thin layer of pesto, and stack them alternately in the food rings. Cover the vegetable towers and refrigerate them. Before serving this cold starter to your guests, tip the vegetable towers out onto small plates, and garnish them with the remaining pesto.