Aubergine Stacks with Red Lentils and Quinoa

This simple, natural gluten free recipe for a satisfying, tasty red lentil-quinoa eggplant salad stack is full of all the things a balanced, nutritious meal requires: vitamins, fiber, carbohydrates, and protein.

Quinoa is a delicious whole "grain" that is easy to digest, full of high quality complete protein, fiber, and magnesium. Nutritionally mighty lentils are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber and also provide good amounts of protein and minerals.

100 g Quinoa
100 g Red lentils
2 Large aubergine, cut crossways into twelve 1.5cm-thick slices
Olive oil spray
A few cherry tomatoes, diced
1 Small red onion, diced
3 tbsp Chopped spring onions
2 tbsp White balsamic vinegar
2-3 tbsp Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Some baby salad leaves
Balsamic cream, optional

Put the quinoa in a sieve and rinse in cold water. Cook the quinoa in a pot of boiling water for 10-15 minutes until tender, drain well, then set aside to cool.
Rinse and drain the red lentils. Pop them in a pot with 1 cup of water. Bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for about 5 minutes until tender yet firm.
Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Spray the eggplant with olive oil spray. Add half the eggplant to the pan and cook for 6 minutes each side or until tender and golden. Repeat with remaining eggplant.
In a bowl, place the quinoa, red lentils, tomato, red onion, and spring onions in a bowl. Drizzle over the balsamic vinegar and the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
Layer the eggplant slices with lentil-quinoa mixture, finishing with a slice of eggplant. Top with some salad leaves. Drizzle over some balsamic cream over to serve.

Apt3D

Aubergine Stacks with Red Lentils and Quinoa