A healthy eggplant salad is a great way to get into Veganuary.
Did you know that eggplants (also known as aubergines or brindal) are botanically known as a fruit and not a vegetable? They’re also a great source of dietary fibre and low in calories. Eggplants are high in antioxidants which can help prevent chronic disease and cancer. They’re also a very adaptable ‘fruit’ and can be boiled, grilled, baked or barbecued.
You can use any eggplants for this recipe (small, large, skinny, fat), and cut the thickness of the eggplant according to your own tastes, they’ll just take longer to cook if they’re sliced more thickly.
This super simple eggplant salad recipe will be ready in less than half an hour and will fill hungry tummies all on its own.
Eggplant Salad Ingredients
1 large eggplant
4 tablespoons olive oil
600 g cooked chickpeas
200 g sliced goats cheese (or you can substitute Tofu or Kehoe’s Cashew Cheese)
1/2 cup of torn basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Dressing
2 large diced tomatoes
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Small clove of crushed garlic
salt and pepper
Method
Pre-heat oven to 200°.
Slice eggplant into half cm rounds and brush lightly with olive oil on both sides. Bake on an oven tray for 15 minutes or until golden brown, turning once during cooking (this time will vary according to size and thickness of eggplant, cook until browned on both sides). Set aside to cool. Combine eggplant with all other ingredients in a bowl then pour the dressing over and enjoy a super simple eggplant salad! This salad also keeps quite well in the fridge for the next day so it’s ideal for work or school lunches.
If you’d like to make this eggplant salad into a vegan version, omit the goat cheese and include Kehoe’s Cashew Cheese with basil or tofu (available at the Manly Food Co-op).