Serves: 4
Prep time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
- Sea salt
- 2 cups cooked quinoa (recipe is found below)
- 1 3/4 cup water and salt for cooking quinoa
- 3 large handfuls of arugula, roughly chopped
- Black pepper to taste
Directions
- In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add garlic and thyme and cook about 30 seconds.
- Add the mushrooms, with a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are softened and browned.
- Transfer the mushrooms to a large mixing bowl and add the quinoa and arugula and combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- To cook quinoa:Rinse the quinoa thoroughly in a fine mesh strainer. Quinoa has a natural coating that is a little soapy tasting, so you need to wash that off first.
- Place quinoa in a large pot with water and pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cook until all liquid is absorbed, for 12-15 minutes. The quinoa will look like little spirals.
- Turn heat off, place a paper towel between the post and the lid, and let quinoa sit for five minutes before fluffing with a fork.
Breaded Eggplant
Serves: 4
Prep time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 cup flour
- 2 eggs, well-beaten
- 2 cups Japanese panko or bread crumbs
- ½ cup olive oil or canola oil
Directions
- Wash and cut eggplant into ¼ inch rounds.
- Lay them on paper towel and drizzle with salt.
- Allow to stand for 30 minutes. Wipe off any moisture coming from eggplant.
- Season flour with ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and mix well.
- Dredge eggplant with the flour, then eggs and finally, with the panko.
- Heat ¼ cup oil in large frying pan over medium heat and fry half of the eggplant until golden brown.
- Clean pan after each batch.
- Fry the rest of the eggplant using the remaining oil.
Tomato Sauce for Eggplant
Serves: 4
Prep time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 14-ounce can whole cherry tomatoes (You can use regular canned tomatoes but the cherry tomatoes have more flavor.)
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
Directions
- In a large frying pan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until golden brown.
- Add tomatoes, salt, sugar and pepper.
- Allow mixture to simmer for 30 minutes on very low heat.
- Serve as a garnish to the eggplant.
To make a Paleo version:
For the Breaded Eggplant:
Directions
- Substitute flour with coconut flour
- Add 4 tablespoons of a nut mixture, chopped
For the Quinoa:
Directions
- Cook in chicken stock to add flavor
- Substitute the olive oil for coconut oil
