Stuffed Eggplant with Squash, Quinoa and Walnuts: Recipe

The holidays are quickly sneaking up on us. I can’t believe the Santa Claus Parade is tomorrow! Where did the fall go? Did we even get fall this year? It was so hot in September and early October and then the temperatures dipped to the low teens. I feel a bit ripped off this year by Mother Nature because I love autumn and we didn’t get many days to enjoy it.

…but such is life and very soon, we’ll be in holiday mode and that means Christmas shopping, baking Christmas cookies, attending Toronto Christmas concerts and hosting holiday parties. One aspect of being a great holiday host is making sure that everyone can enjoy the food offerings. This is becoming quite a challenge since people are eating in a variety of ways including Keto, Paleo, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free. You’ll want to have at least two appetizers that each of your guests can eat, no matter what eating plant they are following. This Stuffed Eggplant with Squash, Quinoa and Walnuts appetizer is great for guests following both vegan and gluten-free diets.

I love making dishes with quinoa. I’ve been trying to follow a low-carb diet so I like to avoid breads and heavy grains such as brown rice or bulgur. Quinoa is actually a seed and is more closely related to spinach and beets than grains. All I know is that I don’t feel as full or bloated after eating quinoa and I love its nutty flavour. Quinoa is also very easy and quick to prepare…it takes only 15 minutes!

I have used frozen diced squash in the Stuffed Eggplant with Quinoa, Squash and Walnuts Recipe because it’s a huge time saver and frozen squash tastes the same as fresh squash in my opinion.

If you want to heat these stuffed eggplant boats up just before serving, you could put a few of them in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Please let me know in the comments section if you made my Stuffed Eggplant with Quinoa, Squash and Walnuts recipe and what you thought of it.

You might also be interested in making Vegan Broccoli “Cheese” Soup.

Stuffed Eggplant with Squash, Quinoa and Walnuts

Stuffed Eggplant with Squash, Quinoa and Walnuts is a vegan and gluten free appetizer.

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Prep Time 35 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Appetizers

Cuisine Vegan

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  

• 1 large eggplant
• 1 500 g bag diced squash thawed
• 3/4 cup walnut pieces
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 small red onion diced
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ground black pepper to taste
• 5 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions

 

• Heat oven to 350°F. Place walnuts on pan lined with parchment paper and roast for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Place quinoa in 1 cup of water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Slice eggplant vertically into halves. Slice halves into quarters and then slice quarters horizontally. Scoop out seeds, making an indent in each eggplant piece to create a boat shape.
• Sprinkle eggplant boats with a little bit of salt and let boats drain on paper towel for 25 minutes. Wipe salt from eggplant boats using paper towel.
• Heat oven to 400°F . Place squash on cooking pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes.
• Heat 2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in large frying pan on medium heat and place eggplant boats in pan. Saute for 4-5 minutes on each side or until slightly browned. Remove eggplant from pan.
• Add 2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to frying pan and saute onions on medium high heat for 2-3 minutes or until lighting browned. Add more olive oil if necessary. Add minced garlic to pan and saute for 1 minute.
• Add quinoa, walnuts, squash, 2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 teaspoon of cumin and ground black pepper to taste to pan with onions and garlic and combine well.
• Scoop 2-3 spoonfuls of quinoa-walnut-squash mixture and press into each eggplant boat. Serve on a platter.