Leftovers Roasted Balsamic Eggplant Salsa
Green foods make the world go round.
World go round. World go round…
Ok, no songs, but seriously, GREEN is the magic color in the food kingdom. I believe this green is what makes for some damn good food.
It’s always a surprise fascination to me when someone says they don’t like vegetables. Really?! I always wonder what happened in the early stages of childhood eating that turned them against broccoli and spinach and squash and such.
Alright, I admit, I used to hate tomatoes. Loath tomatoes. I’m not even sure why. I can tell you though, that to this day, amidst my tomato-LOVING tastebuds, I still cannot do tomato juice. No V-8 juice, no freshly juiced tomatoes, and certainly NO Bloody Mary’s. I’ve tried and I cannot. So I will cut these veggie-“haters” some slack.
I think you just haven’t had the right veggie, cooked the right way. Maybe that’s where I come in.
Besides *ahem* hiding *ahem* some greens in smoothies, sautéing them to perfection or even tenderly roasting that squash to crisp perfection, some still might not be swayed.
But…
I’ll make a believer out of you.
Roasted Balsamic Eggplant Salsa
[easy, clean-out-the-fridge recipe. gluten free and paleo]
- 1 large eggplant, diced into small cubes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 english cucumber, cut into fourths and diced
- 1 can beans (I used 1/2 can chickpeas, 1/2 can black beans)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 cup each frozen corn and frozen artichoke hearts
- 1/4 cup thinly diced red onion
- 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp (or a handful) golden raisins
- 3+ tbsp balsamic vinegar (I used cilantro-garlic infused vinegar)
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt (or more, to taste)
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup feta or crumbled goat cheese
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place cubed eggplant in a glass baking dish and toss with olive oil. Bake for 45 minutes, or until soft.
Meanwhile, place all ingredients into a large bowl, except the feta/goat cheese. Toss to combine, making sure the vinegar coats all vegetables. When eggplant is soft, remove from oven and toss into the balsamic vinegar mixture. Add the cheese last and gently fold into mixture.
Serve over a bed of chopped kale leaves. Alternately, this is wonderful with chicken, sweet potatoes, lettuce greens, or even served with tortilla chips.
If you’re still not convinced, here are some seriously tasty green recipes for you to try out.. or for fooling a veggie-hater not-so-mucher:
Rich & Creamy Tahini Kale Salad
My favorite Green Smoothie
The Perfect Pestacado for stuffing any green
Banana Zucchini Muffins or Zucchini Drop Cookies (both equally delicious and LOW added sweetener)
The Shaken Sweet Potato Smoothie, perhaps?
Carrot Cake Oats, anyone…?
How do you prefer your greens?
Do you have to hide your greens or eat them plentifully?
Oh my gosh girl, this looks fantastic! And I just bought an eggplant the size of my head the other day! Looks like Heather’s gonna have herself a big ol’ bowl of this very very soon! 😀
I was a pretty picky eater when I was younger and I’m pretty sure the only “vegetable” I liked was in the form of french fries, but now there is hardly a vegetable out there that I won’t eat. I’m not a huge fan of radishes…mainly because I don’t think they have a taste and I don’t see the point in paying to eat water in vegetable form…but I WILL eat them!
I love greens any way I can get ’em! Fresh in a salad, blended into a smoothie, sauteed, steamed, whatever! I think I’d have to say my favorite way to have greens is kale sauteed in coconut oil! Mmm!
PS, love tomatoes…HATE tomato juice! Ick!
<- Aww, why do I have to get the frowny face??
LOVE this salad. i think the eggplant makes it shine!!! i wanna eeeeat it.
i love green too. cucumbers, salads, green monsters, you name it!
that salad was SO. GOOD. I got a couple of eggplants at the Farmer’s Market the other day… guess their destiny!!! 🙂
Wow!! those looks delish!!! I love my greens just in a green salad – lattice, broccoli and cucumbers but niw I would like to try one of those!
Thanks as always!
Larissa
I had a green smoothie for breakfast! I eat a TON of kale. Usually sauteed with a little vinegar or raw in salads! It feels so weird not eating anything green during the day!
This looks so delish!!
I don’t trust people who don’t like vegetables. I mean come on. You HAVE to at least like one or two, there’s such a wide variety!!!
That looks amazing! I unintentionally let a beautiful perfect eggplant go bad in my fridge last week, man I was pissed.
Yum!! I actually love my greens, so I don’t need to hide them 🙂 I must say though that hiding zucchini in everything is quite easy and a great way to trick my hubby into eating it!! 😉
I prefer my greens front and center. And I used to be that veggie hater. I hated EVERY veggie until I was about 25. I would only eat corn and potatoes, and that was it. Not even lettuce. I was like a different person. 🙂
Those muffins are kind of calling my name…
That salsa sounds heavenly to me!!
Looks great! Love our greens, especially in green smoothies and salads.
WOW,those all look amazing. Green is my favorite color….especially to EAT!