Quinoa Tabbouleh & Fairy Tale Eggplants

with Toasted Pine Nuts & Yogurt Sauce

2 Servings

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From the Test Kitchen

Blue Apron Chefs, it’s story time. This one begins with a very special variety of eggplant: fairy tale eggplant. Named for their "fairy-scale" size, these teardrop-shaped vegetables are almost too good to be true. Their flesh is mild and tender and their skin is a gorgeous, pale purple stippled with white. Served with toasty pine nuts, hearty tabbouleh and a zesty Greek yogurt sauce, we think you’ll find this dish, well, enchanting.

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Nutrition

PER SERVING
Calories

525 Cals (est.)

fresh

ingredients

1 cup White Quinoa
6 oz Multicolored Cherry Tomatoes
5 oz Fairy Tale Eggplant
3 cloves Garlic
2 Scallions
1 bunch Mint
1 Kirby Cucumber
1 large bunch Parsley
1 Lemon
3 Tbsps Pine Nuts
½ cup Plain Greek Yogurt
2 oz Crumbled Feta Cheese

step-by-step

instructions

Cook Along

1 Cook the quinoa:

Heat a medium pot of salted water to boiling on high. Once boiling, add the quinoa and cook 15 to 17 minutes, or until tender. Using a fine strainer, drain thoroughly. Set the cooked quinoa aside as you continue cooking.

2 Prepare the ingredients:

While the quinoa cooks, wash and dry the fresh produce. Slice the tomatoes and eggplants in half. Peel all 3 garlic cloves; mince 2. Mince the remaining clove; then, using the flat side of your knife, smash until it resembles a paste. Remove and discard the roots of the scallions; thinly slice the scallions, separating the white and green parts. Pick the mint and parsley leaves off the stems; discard the stems. Roughly chop the mint and parsley, keeping the 2 herbs separate. Small dice the cucumber. Using a peeler, remove the yellow rind of the lemon, avoiding the pith; mince the rind to get 2 teaspoons of zest. Quarter the lemon and remove the seeds.

3 Toast the nuts & make the yogurt sauce:

Heat a large, dry pan (nonstick, if you have one) on medium-high until hot. Add the pine nuts and toast, stirring frequently, 2 to 4 minutes, or until browned and fragrant. Transfer to a small bowl. To make the yogurt sauce, combine the Greek yogurt, lemon zest, garlic paste and mint in a small bowl. Stir in a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

4 Cook the eggplants:

In a medium bowl, toss the eggplants with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. In the same pan used to toast the nuts, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium until hot. Add the eggplants, cut side down first, and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until browned and tender. Transfer to a plate and set aside in a warm place. Wipe out the pan.

5 Make the tabbouleh:

In the same pan used to cook the eggplants, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium until hot. Add the minced garlic and white parts of the scallions. Cook, stirring frequently, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the cooked quinoa, parsley and the juice of 2 lemon wedges; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes, or until well combined and heated through. Remove from heat and stir in the tomatoes and cucumber; season with salt and pepper to taste.

6 Plate your dish:

Divide the tabbouleh between 2 dishes. Top each with the cooked eggplants, toasted pine nuts and feta cheese. Garnish with the yogurt sauce, green parts of the scallions and the remaining lemon wedges. Enjoy!