16 Oct Taryn Littleton’s roasted aubergine and summer quinoa salad

This recipe was provided by Taryn Littleton in our recent FaithfulFood Challenge.

I love aubergines for their versatile use in stews, salads and beyond. My parents, who have a beautiful fruit and vegetable garden, often grow them. They are high in fibre and low in fat, making them ideal for type 2 diabetes. They are also a good source of vitamins B1 and B6 as well as potassium, magnesium, copper and manganese. Not to mention, they are rich in antioxidants! Roasting them is a win as the outer, shiny, purple skin of the aubergine crisps up and is a treat to tuck into, which is a must, as this is where a lot of the goodness lies. Quinoa is another favourite of mine, (ok I just love all healthy foods) for many reasons, but mostly for its protein content and easy use. I really love the flavour combinations in this dish, they are light and zesty and give you a real summertime kind of feeling. So here it is, a tasty and filling recipe that you’re just gonna have to try.

Ingredients

500 g butternut, cubed
Macadamia oil or olive oil
Raw honey
Cinnamon
Salt
Pepper
4 beetroots, cubed
3 aubergines, sliced into 1 cm thick rounds.
Thyme
½ cup quinoa
1 cup bone broth or vegetable stock (or water if you don’t have stock on hand)
Spring onion finely chopped
Handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Baby spinach leaves, or English spinach
Handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
Pomegranate pips
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, roasted
Coconut flakes, toasted (optional, but I love the extra texture and crunch they add to the dish)

For the lemon dressing
This is used for the spinach leaves, tomatoes, and you can drizzle some over your roasted butternut and beetroot

Juice of 1 lemon
30 ml hemp seed oil
30 ml macadamia oil
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
½ tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp raw honey

For the yoghurt sauce
This sauce really compliments the aubergine, but is great over the quinoa too

100 ml full cream Greek yoghurt
1½ tbsp hemp oil
1 small garlic clove, crushed
Pinch of salt

Method

1. First, whisk together all the ingredients for the lemon dressing and set aside.
2.  Next, combine all your ingredients for the yoghurt sauce in a small bowl, mix well and put aside.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
4. Place the butternut and beetroot both into roasting trays, drizzle with oil and honey and season with thyme leaves, salt and pepper. Sprinkle cinnamon over the butternut.
5. Roast for 40 minutes. Once done, allow to cool and drizzle with the lemon dressing for extra flavour and zing.
6. Lightly salt the aubergines on both sides, leave for 20 minutes and then pat dry with some paper towel.
7. Then fry them off in a pan using macadamia or olive oil. You want to fry them for about 5 minutes and then turn and fry the other side, making sure you get some nice colour on them, then place onto a roasting tray and cook for 15 minutes to cook through.
8. In a pot bring ½ cup of quinoa to the boil with 1 cup of water, vegetable stock or bone broth.
9. Cover and simmer for 15–18 minutes until cooked and fluffy.
10. Once cooked, season with salt and pepper and a little bit of the lemon dressing.
11. Meanwhile in a pan on a high heat roast the pumpkin seeds.
12. In a separate bowl, drizzle some of the lemon dressing over the spinach leaves and mix to coat the leaves.
13. To assemble your salad, lay out the aubergine rounds on a large platter.
14. Cover with the spinach, then the quinoa, tomatoes, butternut, beetroot, spring onion, roasted pumpkin seeds and continue to layer and mix creating your very own masterpiece.

Drizzle the yoghurt dressing over the top, sprinkle over the pomegranate and coconut as well as some fresh mint and voila!

This dish really does pack it all in, from the variety of vegetables, nutritious bone broth, some quinoa for added protein to the complimentary flavours and the delightful textures. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did making it and then, of course, sharing it with loved ones.