This happened to me the other day when I returned home from grocery shopping with two nice and plump pieces of eggplant in my bag. For me eggplant is one of those vegetables that’s neither here nor there. It’s a bit complicated to make into something great and delicious, especially if you decide not to bread it, fry it, or stuff it with a ton of cheese – Eggplant Parmesan I am looking at you!
To make eggplant ready for stuffing and minimize the amount of oil needed to almost zilch, I decided to roast it first and then stuff it. Roasting does take a bit of time, although not too much as 20-30 minutes at 425 F (220 C) usually does the trick.
Bon appétite!
Quinoa and Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed Eggplant
What you’ll need:
2 eggplants, large
1 red onion, diced
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water (or vegetable stock)
1 pint (300 g) cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup vegan cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon dry basil
Black pepper, freshly ground
Cooking spray
What you’ll do:
- Pre-heat oven to 425 F (220 C).
- Wash the two pieces of eggplant and cut in half lengthwise. Place on the aluminum foil covered baking sheet, crosshatch the surface and spray with a cooking spray. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until the top is nicely browned. once the eggplant is out, lower the oven temperature to 350 F (180 C).
- While the eggplant is roasting, prepare quinoa according to the instructions on the box. I usually cook quinoa in water, but you can definitely use vegetable (vegan) stock if you’d like to add a bit extra flavor.
- Once quinoa is fully cooked, transfer into a large mixing bowl. Mix with diced onion and cherry tomatoes that you’ve cut in half lengthwise. Next, scoop out eggplant flash and add to the quinoa stuffing. Lastly, add basil and freshly ground black pepper and mix well.
- Spoon a generous amount of stuffing into each eggplant half, spray the top with some cooking spray, and top with shredded cheese. Put the stuffed eggplant back into the oven until the stuffing is heated through, tomatoes cooked, and the cheese melted. This should not take more than 15-20 minutes.
- Serve warm!
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