RECIPES
GRILLED EGGPLANT SALAD WITH LENTILS AND SESAME YOGURT
Salad, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Healthy Eating, Organic
Ideas and recipes from sunny Australia, for nourishing,
wholesome foods, prepared
with holistic ingredients that
love you back.
Only a few decades ago we had no choice but to eat in season as there was nothing else available. You ate cooling foods like berries, melons, cucumbers and mint in summer
when it was hot – and warming, rooted vegetables in winter to keep
you warm.
Eastern medicine has understood our interconnectedness to nature for centuries and their philosophies around health and food focus on mostly on natures cycles.
In autumn and winter the direction of the qi (your energy or life force) moves inward. We need to focus on being warm, restoring our energy (as nature does) and getting adequate rest and sleep. Nourishing and seasonal foods made into stews or roasts are a great way to boost your nutrient intake.
Traditional Chinese Medicine suggests that you cook most foods at it is predigestion outside the body. Cold and raw foods require much more energy to transform them as they aren't 'predigested' so especially in the cooler months of the year it is important to focus on seasonal, warming and earthy food.
Instinctively we wouldn't crave an ice cold smoothie out of the fridge for breakfast on a cold winter morning.
I find it so important to really tune into what our bodies need - trust and follow that instinct and break with convenient habits. Nature didn't intend for us to have a 24 hr Supermarket around the corner that supplies us with food from all around the world...
This warm vegetable salad doesn't only bring rich, earthy autumn colours to the plate but also warming and creamy textures. Coriander and pomegranate add a little bit of zestyness and are loaded with antioxidants and Vitamin C to keep you fit through the colder season.
INGREDIENTS
SALAD
2 eggplant
2 cups of cooked lentils
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 red onion
1/2 cup coarsley chopped coriander, parsley and mint
half a pomegranate
1 tbsp of ghee*
DRESSING
1 cup full cream natural yogurt*
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp of honey*
juice of one lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed
olive oil
*Vegans, substitute coconut oil for ghee, coconut yogurt instead of yogurt and maple syrup for honey.
METHOD
Heat ghee in a cast iron skillet and fry eggplant on both sides until golden brown.
Combine olive oil, apple cider vinegar and onions in a bowl, add warmed lentils. (You can use freshly cooked or leftovers).
Mix all dressing ingredients in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Before serving toss eggplant, pomegranate and herbs through lentils and arrange on a platter.
Serve warm with dressing on
the side.
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