Roasted Eggplant Salad

This is a salad you can enjoy either warm or cold. Perfect as a light dinner or to bring to work as a satisfying, healthy lunch. I like to serve it with quinoa as a source of complete protein and lots of fresh, peppery arugula for an additional vitamin boost. Large chunks of perfectly roasted eggplants are drenched in a flavorful, smoky sauce of tomatoes and spices. Make sure to pick fresh, plump, and shiny eggplants for this dish to enjoy its delicious taste to the fullest!

Ingredients:

• 3 medium-size eggplants (2½ lb/generous 1100 g) green ends removed, cut into about ½ inch (generous 1 cm) slices
• 2 lb (950 g) tomatoes, sliced
• 2 jalapeño peppers, sliced (optional, if you like it spicy)
• 1½ cups (350 ml) vegetable broth ( I prepared it with homemade veggie broth concentrate)
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Celtic sea salt to taste
• fresh, minced parsley to taste

For quinoa (optional):

• 2 cups (340 g) quinoa, thoroughly rinsed (if not pre-rinsed)
• 4 cups (950 ml) water
• 1 tsp salt

Toppings:

• more fresh parsley, minced
• fresh baby arugula
• cashew Parmesan, optional (*see notes)

Preparation:

Rinse and cut vegetables.

Set oven temperature to broil.

Follow instructions on package to prepare quinoa. I use slightly less water and about 1 tsp Celtic sea salt for 2 cups.

Place eggplant slices in a single layer on one large (or two smaller) rimmed baking sheet(s). Place tomato slices on top of them. There will probably be more tomatoes, so just fit them onto the sheet.

Add jalapeño slices to the bottom of the baking sheet(s).

Blend veggie broth with maple syrup and olive oil, then pour evenly over eggplants and tomatoes.

Place baking sheets on middle rack in the oven and broil for 15-20 minutes. Keep checking because you don’t want tomatoes and eggplants to be burnt.  They should look like this:

Remove sheet(s) from oven and turn everything upside down.

Return to oven and broil for another 15 minutes. Start checking on them after 10 minutes. The eggplants should be nicely browned and tender, and most of the liquid should have evaporated.

Turn off broiler, remove sheets from the oven, and transfer eggplants, tomatoes, and jalapeños with remaining liquid to a medium size bowl. Don’t use plastic because veggies are hot!

Add ground cumin, garlic, smoked paprika, balsamic vinegar, and parsley to the bowl.

Carefully toss to combine and season to taste with Celtic sea salt.

Serve over quinoa and top with lots of fresh arugula and more parsley. Enjoy!

Notes:

• Perfect cold as a satisfying, nutritious lunch or warm as a healthy, light dinner.
• Additional toppings could be toasted pine nuts, almonds, and fresh basil.
• *) 3-minute cashew Parmesan with only 3 ingredients:
  • 1 cup (140 g) raw, unsalted cashews
  • 1 tsp Celtic sea salt
  • 4 Tbsp nutritional yest flakes

To prepare, place all the ingredients into your blender or food processor. Pulse until a crumbled Parmesan-like texture is achieved. Ready in less than 3 minutes!