Quinoa Salad with Eggplant and Lemon

I have been impatiently waiting for my lemons to preserve and I used the ones from the Steirereck to make this salad for a bigger gathering. This is my kind of salad I could dig in and finish the whole bowl! Oh so yummy and healthy. what is there to know about quinoa:

Quinoa is a rich source of the B vitamins thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and is a rich source of the dietary minerals iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc. Quinoa is also a good source of the B vitamins niacin and pantothenic acid, vitamin E, and the dietary mineral potassium. The pseudo cereal contains a modest amount of calcium, and thus is useful for vegans and those who are lactose intolerant. It is gluten-free and considered easy to digest.

All those reasons to eat quinoa ! And stay healthy ! That is the best part !

Print recipe

reparation time: 40 min
Cooking time: 25 min

You Need:

200 g quinoa
1 large eggplant cut in dices
1 elephant garlic, cut in small pieces
olive oil
4 green asparagus | or 1 cucumber
1 yellow bell pepper
2 sprigs with approx. 12 leaves of Thai basil
    - alternatively use ½ cup cilantro or parsley
½ cup organic olive oil
½ preserved lemon from the jar + a bit from the salty juice
chili

Cook the quinoas as directed on the package, make sure they are not to hard, just right, which is different for everyone. Let cool. You can easily cook the quinoa a day a head; it keeps well in the fridge.

The eggplant will be fried in plenty of olive oil over medium to high heat in a pan, add the garlic when halfway done and stir frequently, the eggplants should turn light brown and become quite soft. Let them cool.
In the meantime chop the asparagus for decoration, leave the pretty heads aside, and cut the bell pepper as desired. Chop the herbs and mix them together with the eggplant under the cooled quinoa. In a bowl make the dressing with olive oil, lemon and chili and stir well. 

Pour the fragrant dressing over the quinoa, mix well so the juices can combine with the grains and decorate with the bell pepper and asparagus. 

Green Mayonnaise Dressing

None of the photos needed photoshopping ... the colors are like you see them - BEAUTIFUL !

Dressings are my kind of thing when it comes to salads. I often try something different as you already know. Remember the Avocado Poached Egg Salad with Grapefruit? I love that dressing!

Today I wanted to convince my family of eating frisée salad, which is difficult to love because it is kind of bitter and chewy, best thing about it is, that it looks fun - at least for decoration under raw meat my husband and son thinks. What a difficult plan I had in mind but believe it or not they ate it all and each time they like it the recipe passes and can be published. Tough crowd !

You Need:

Dressing:
50 gr fresh corn salad, washed 
4 tbsp organic olive oil from NOAN
1/2 orange, juiced
1 -2 tbsp agave sirup
1/2 avocado
1 tsp light colored miso paste - optional
1 tsp white vinegar
Garlic, salt and chili 

+
1/2 a head of a curly endive salad or frisée salad, washed
1/2 a ripe mango, peeled and in slices

Mix everything for the dressing with an immersion blender until you get the consistency of mayonnaise. The Miso paste is a a great seasoning for a lot of dishes, dressings, soups and sauces and keeps in the fridge very well. Season with salt and garlic paste. I use this fermented garlic, that is lightly salted and much better to digest than the fresh garlic.Season to taste and drizzle over your salad, the sliced mango brings some sweetness to it and eliminates the bitterness. The oil I use for many years now is called NOAN and the story behind it will inspire you, the oil is absolutely amazing and I buy it by 5 liter canisters.

This is an egg free, healthy and tasty alternative to mayo and looks just like spring itself.

DD TIP:
Try the mayonnaise once as a dip in summer for your raw vegetables ! You can substitute the corn salad with other salads but it is the greenest, spinach will work just as fine.