Quinoa Salad with Roasted Eggplant
I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner one night when I remembered seeing an eggplant and quinoa salad on Nutrition Ella a couple of months ago. This has turned into the perfect weeknight meal- flavorful, easy, and healthy!
Here’s how you make it!
Ingredients
1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups of vegetable broth
1 large eggplant
1 medium onion
2 vine ripened tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
small handful of fresh mint
small handful of fresh basil
1/2 lemon
salt + pepper + red pepper flakes
olive oil
parmesan cheese
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Start cooking the quinoa. I recommend following the directions in this post – it comes out great every time. I also highly recommend cooking it in broth instead of just water. It adds so much more flavor.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Chop the eggplant into bite sized pieces. Spread them out on a lined sheet pan, and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. To keep them from sticking, loosen with a spatula about halfway through.
In the meantime, chop the onion and mince the garlic. Add the onion to a pan with olive oil. After a few minutes, when they start to soften, add the garlic and a few pinches of red pepper flakes. Continue to saute until the onions are tender and translucent.
Chop the tomatoes into bite sized pieces and add to a large bowl. Add your cooked quinoa and the onion/garlic mixture.
When the eggplant is done, add that as well.
Add a large spoonful (or two) of parmesan cheese, chopped basil, and chopped mint.
Squeeze half a lemon over the top and mix it all together.
And serve!
If it’s a little dry, you can add a little bit more olive oil, too.
Enjoy!
