Sometimes, what you want is a traybake. Packed with colourful veg, it’s a great way of eating phytonutrients and fibre while enjoying that slightly caramelised, lightly charred taste. 

This traybake is different from the usual root veg spread. For a start, it includes orzo – and this way of cooking it is especially good for gut health. Cooking pasta and letting it cool can lower its glycaemic load by increasing its resistant starch content. Cook your orzo in advance, let it cool and then add it to this recipe alongside the high-protein peas, antioxidant-packed dill and tasty olives. Enjoy for dinner and take the rest to work for your lunch – again, capitalising on that starch transformation.

Feta adds a salty edge to the dish and delivers bone-friendly calcium and gut-supporting probiotics, while the cherry tomatoes offer a punch of vitamin C. 

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 150g cherry tricoloured tomatoes, halved
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 100ml vegetable stock
• 300g dried orzo pasta, cooked
• Small handful of dill fronds, finely chopped
• 300g frozen peas
• 75g black olives
• 200g feta cheese, cut into chunks

1. Preheat the oven to 220°/200°C fan/Gas 7.

2. In a large heavy-based frying pan heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and tomatoes and fry until slightly soft.

3. Stir in the lemon zest, oregano and vegetable stock. Season with some salt and pepper and cook for around 3 minutes.

4. Then stir through the cooked orzo and add the dill, peas and black olives, and check the seasoning. Stir again and top with the feta.

5. Bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes until the feta has just started to colour.

6. Scatter over some more chopped dill to serve.

Recipe and image: courtesy of Yes Peas