Garlic and onion quinoa stuffed eggplant, drizzled with a delicious lemon tahini dressing and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds for added crunch and sweetness. The perfect dish to serve at Thanksgiving dinner.
Next Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving and boy am I excited! Spending time with my family over a delicious feast is what I’m all about…OH, and wine too. We can’t forget about that! All wine talk aside, today is the start of my Thanksgiving series. There will be three posts coming your way to help plan your perfect vegetarian Thanksgiving menu, which will include one main dish, two sides and one delicious dessert. Although I LOVE a traditional Thanksgiving meal, all the stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy and all the yummy desserts- This menu won’t be a traditional one. From Haitian food to Italian, in my family we like to mix things up.
I have to make this disclaimer here. For all my non-vegetarian friends, even though these Quinoa Stuffed Eggplant with Lemon Tahini Dressing might not exactly be your cup of tea for a main dish (since many of you would prefer ham or turkey), add a little chicken or shrimp, or you can still make these as sides ? Whatever floats your boat! This also makes for a great meatless monday meals…just sayin’.
Now let’s talk about this delicious recipe! When it comes to holiday dinners, this is normally the time of year that my recipes may take a little more time to prepare than my usual weekday meals, but with that being said, if it takes longer than 30 minutes (this takes 35 to be exact ?), it better be dang good. Trust me, it is! The oven roasted eggplant, stuffed with garlic and onion quinoa is just amazing as it is, but when you add the lemon tahini dressing and pomegranate seeds, it just brings this dish to a WHOLE ‘NOTHER LEVEL. Mad TV anyone?
Quinoa Stuffed Eggplant with Lemon Tahini Dressing
A delicious garlic and onion quinoa, stuffed in oven roasted eggplant then drizzled with a lemon tahini dressing with a healthy and sweet sprinkling of pomegranate seeds. Thanksgiving dinner hasn’t looked better.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 40
Ingredients
- 2 small eggplants, cut in half lengthwise
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed with garlic crusher, or chopped finely
- 1 brown onion, diced
- 3/4 quinoa
- 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper
For the Lemon Tahini Dressing
- 1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
- 1/2 juice of lemon
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Slice the eggplants in half lengthwise. Using a small knife, cut a border inside each eggplant about ½-1cm thick. Using a spoon, scoop out the eggplant flesh, so that you have 4 shells.
- Brush the eggplant shells with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste and place in a baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Chop the flesh and leave to the side.
- Cook quinoa according to package on the stove top (about 20minutes). I use vegetable broth, but you can use water and season it to taste.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan and cook garlic and onion until soft. Add the chopped eggplant flesh, add salt and pepper to taste and cook through.
- Once the quinoa is cooked, pour it into a bowl, along with the garlic onion eggplant mixture, chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and seasoning. Stir to combine.
- When the eggplant shells are tender, remove them from the oven and reduce the heat to 400F. Fill the eggplant shells with the quinoa mixture. Place back in the oven and cook for another 15 minutes.
- To make the lemon tahini dressing, in a bowl mix all the ingredients together and season to taste.
- Drizzle the lemon tahini dressing and sprinkle pomegranate seeds, and now it’s ready to serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
Bon Appétit!
Tell me, what’s you’re favorite Thanksgiving dish?
-Kristeena
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