Eggplant, Shiitake, Cepollini Vinaigrette with Quinoa

Monday is usually the most challenging (and fun) day for planning a dish as cleaning the fridge for Tuesday’s CSA box is my highest priority. Today I have 2 eggplants, ½ lb of shiitake mushrooms (you need to sign up for these separately), cepollini onions and romaine lettuce left. And some parsley. Ok, let’s have a vegetarian dish for lunch.

Eggplant, Shiitake, Cepollini Vinaigrette with Quinoa

Forgive me if I don’t give you a detailed recipe for this dish but it is pretty simple. Cut the eggplants in ¼” slices, the cipollini in ½” wedges, clean the shiitake (this week they were bite size so no cutting). 

Broil each side of the eggplant for about 5 minutes or until golden brown and the shiitake and onions for about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring once. Put the cooked vegetables in a glass bowl. Chop some herbs. Parsley from the farm and fresh oregano and thyme from my garden. Just a bit, as oregano and thyme have strong flavors. I always plant basil, thyme, rosemary, green onions and oregano in springtime so I have fresh herbs all summer and fall. 

Oh, back to the recipe. In a small bowl, mix kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, vinegar and olive oil. One thing that I absolutely won’t give up is the organic extra virgin olive oil. Back to the recipe. The proportion of vinegar and olive oil is 1 to 2. Mix well and pour over the vegetable mix. Toss and at this point you have a dish that you can enjoy with salads, as a side dish to meats or in a sandwich, yummy. Keep in the fridge but bring it to room temperature before eating.

Cook some quinoa according to the package instructions. Arrange lettuce leaves and tomatoes in a dish, top with quinoa and vegetable vinaigrette. 

Enjoy!