Quinoa Salad with Roasted Eggplant and Chickpeas

A hearty and wholesome savory salad to enjoy for lunch or dinner. This is a meal in itself, or it pairs really well with grilled meats, sausages, and other barbecue foods.

For 4 servings, you will need:

• 150 grams of quinoa
• 1 eggplant
• 1 can (400 grams) of chickpeas, drained
• 1 medium-size red onion or 2 small-size red onions
• A handful of fresh cilantro
• Some olive oil to roast the eggplant and chickpeas

For the dressing, refer to our sweet and spicy dressing recipe.


Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Resting Time: At least 1 hour if you'd like your salad cold


Start by pre-heating your oven at 220 C ( 430 F).

Drain the liquid out of the can of chickpeas, then rinse and drain them.

Rinse the eggplant, then shop it into small cubes.

Place the chickpeas and eggplant pieces in a large bowl. Add some olive oil and toss the chickpeas and eggplant pieces to have the olive oil coat your veggies.

Cover an oven rack with foil or parchment paper, and drizzle a little bit of olive oil.

Spread the chickpeas and the eggplant pieces on the foil, and place the oven rack in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, keep your eyes on it.

While the chickpeas and eggplant are roasting, prepare the quinoa per the packet's instructions - mine says one part quinoa for two parts water, and heat it up for about 15 minutes.

While everything is roasting and boiling, finely chop the red onion and roughly chop the coriander.

Once the chickpeas and eggplant are roasted and the quinoa is cooked, let them cool down for about 20 minutes.

Combine all the ingredients together.

Prepare the dressing by referring to our sweet and spicy dressing recipe.

Now, you have another decision to make!
If you would like to eat the salad warm, serve it right away after adding the dressing.
If you would like to eat the salad cold, which is my preference, cover the salad and place it in the fridge for at least one hour. Before serving, add the dressing, or simply let everyone help themselves to however much dressing they want to add.

Enjoy!

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Charline Leblond

Chicken Enchiladas

Sometimes, when I crave something a little south-of-the-border and I do not have the time to make pork carnitas, I find that these enchiladas tend to hit the spot. As an added bonus, they fulfill the main weeknight dinner criteria: Easy to make, easy to eat, easy to clean up. For one person, you can even skip the plate and eat straight out of the baking dish. And this recipe is really more of a guideline, because you can customize the flavors as much as you like, to suit your taste. Oh, did I mention this can be done in about 30 minutes?

I will make the following disclaimer: These are my version of enchiladas and I am well aware they are not "authentic", but they serve me well.

For 2 servings, you will need:

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
• 300 grams of salsa*
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• About half of a 435 gram-can of refried beans, or any other beans you like.
• 1 tablespoon of paprika
• 1 tablespoon of chopped coriander
• About 100 grams cheddar
• 1 Chili
• Hot sauce (Optional)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 large tortillas

The paprika, coriander, chili and hot sauce are variables for you to adjust, depending on how you would like your enchiladas to turn out. Feel free to add other spices as well.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes - Count at least 10 more minutes if you're making the salsa the same day
Cooking Time: 10 minutes


First, pre-heat the oven to 200 C (390 F) and let's prepare the chicken.

In a hot skillet, add some oil and then the chicken.

Add the paprika, coriander, a dash of salt and pepper, and the diced up chili.

Mix everything well and keep tossing the chicken to brown.

Once the chicken has browned, add the chicken stock, bring it to a boil, and then reduce the heat until the stock simmers.

Cook until the liquid has evaporated and the chicken is fully cooked, approximately five minutes.

And now we are ready to assemble the enchiladas. I have already grated my cheese here, but you can grate the cheese directly over the enchiladas if you prefer.

So, the first thing I do is to add some refried beans on my tortilla.

Then I add the chicken, and some hot sauce.

Add a little bit of cheese, and wrap up the burrito.

Repeat for the number of burritos you want to make, this recipe is for two burritos.

In an oven proof dish, add a little bit of salsa.

Then add the burritos.

And cover with the rest of the salsa.

And finally, add the rest of the grated cheese on top.

You can make this in advance and keep it until dinner time. When you want to eat, pop it in the oven at 200 C (390 F) and cook for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the salsa has warmed up.

If it is just for you ... well, I enjoy eating it directly out of the baking dish, which keeps it nice and hot.

Of course, you can also plate it, with some of the hot salsa poured over the burrito, and a side of tortilla chips.

Buen apetito!


*Note: You could by store-bought salsa, but you could also save money and enjoy fresh, home-made salsa by using our salsa recipe.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Shyamal Addanki

Salsa

Salsa picante! Corn chips! A good refreshing beer or a nice Margarita! Sounds like a good start for your evening.

Salsa is a very easy dip to prepare. You can adjust it to your taste, don't feel bad if you only add one chili or if you de-seed the chillies. It's fine, and it will still be tasty, and not too spicy.

Anyway, let's get started with this quick and simple salsa.

For about two cups to two cups and a half of salsa, you will need:

• 400g of diced tomatoes*
• A glove of garlic
• 1/2 a big onion
• 2 chillies
• A handful of fresh cilantro
• Some salt and pepper to taste
• A spritz of lime juice

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Start by finely dicing your ingredients; the glove of garlic, the 1/2 onion, the chillies, and the fresh cilantro.

In a bowl, add your diced tomatoes, the diced ingredients, and the salt and pepper.

Mix them so that the ingredients combine nicely together.

You just made your own salsa! That's it! Wasn't it easy?! So, no more need for those pre-made jars.

Cover your bowl and keep in the fridge until serving.

Before serving, give the salsa a good stir, and add a spritz of lime juice on top.

*You can use a can of diced tomatoes, or use fresh tomatoes finely diced or crushed with a hand mixer.


Tip: If you have some salsa leftovers, use your salsa to make enchiladas. Try our Chicken Enchiladas.

You can also use it to make a spicy omelet or some spicy scrambled eggs. Or, use the salsa to give a kick to your mac & cheese.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!