So, this past weekend we moved from Williamsburg, VA to
around the Peoria, IL area. WOW was that a long drive in some horrific storm
weather but in 24 hours including a 5-hour rest stop in the worst motel I have
ever been in and 6 states (Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana,
and half of Illinois) we made it. Anyways, my very best friend Silvia has also
recently moved to the Chicago area. (Check out her BLOG and STORE here). I was
fortunate to visit with her on Saturday for a lunch date before leaving for
California the next day. She requested a dinner dish I made awhile back and
posted to my Instagram. It was a quinoa stuffed eggplant but because it was so
long ago and I made it on a whim I could not remember how exactly I made it. So
this time I came up with a similar concoction. She had never tried eggplant
before and was curious. But because we are staying at my girlfriend’s mom house
for the two days in town I had to use what was easily available. I don’t know
about you but its always odd trying to took in a foreign kitchen! Needless to
say I was nervous to make it and then everyone not like it. After all 3 out of
5 people were eggplant virgins! In the end it was a success. At least I think
it was unless everyone was being nice and just said they liked it. But anyways
you can be the judge and try this recipe out yourself.
(I decided at the very last moment to
take step-by-step pictures and post this so sorry for the bad pics and sloppy
presentation.)
I love this recipe because you can alter it to your personal lifestyle. It can be vegan if you omit the feta cheese. Vegetarian with the feta or for the animal eaters you can add chicken, ground turkey or whatever.
Original Instagram Post:
First I washed all the veggies of course.
Peel the leaves off the eggplants but leave the stems. Next
I cut the eggplant in half lengthwise. Then cut around the inside leaving a
little less then half an inch to keep the bowl or “boat” shape. Next I made
slits going down and across making squares. Make sure to not cut all the way
down because you will need the eggplant to double as the bowl or “boat” for the
stuffing. I greased a pan with a drop of sunflower oil, sprinkled a small about
of sea salt on the flesh side of the eggplants then placed them cut side down
on the sheet.
While the oven was warming to 400 deg I started to prepare the
stuffing.
Cut and dice one large red bell pepper and 1 or 2 jalapeño
peppers (depending on your personal preference). Place in a bowl.
Rinse and drain one can of black beans and add to the
peppers.
Add 2 cloves chopped fresh garlic. (I used this because it
was what I had on hand already.)
Next I added ½ tsp chili powder, ¼ tsp ground turmeric, ½
tsp ground cumin (not shown in pic), and a smidgen of sunflower oil to the pepper and bean
mixture. Toss to mix.
By now the oven should be ready for the eggplant. Bake for
15 min.
While that is baking start the quinoa. I squeezed the juice
of half a lemon and tossed it in the water. Bring to a boil.
Carefully remove
the lemon and add the quinoa. Bring to a simmer and cover.
After about 5-7 min
add the black bean mixture. (You could also wait until the quinoa is almost
done but I wanted my beans and peppers to soften up.)
When the eggplants are done scoop out the flesh and add eggplant
flesh to quinoa and black bean mixture. Finish cooking quinoa until done.
While that is finishing cooking slice and dice one large
mango.
When the quinoa black bean mixture is done cooking stir in mango.
Scoop mixture into eggplant bowl or “boats”. Top with feta
cheese (optional). Place back in the oven for 5-10 min until all is warm again.
Serve topped with slices of avocado. (Optional toppings can
be hot sauce, sour cream or anything you desire.)
ENJOY!
I hope you enjoyed this and motivates you to try it or
something alike.
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Much Love -- CLL
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Ingredients:
15-ounce can black beans (no salt added)
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 large red bell pepper
1 large fresh mango
1 large avocado
1 small jalapeño pepper
1 medium lemon or lime
1 1/2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
Optional:
feta cheese
sour cream
any topping of your choice
