Sara of the beautiful Simply Whole Kitchen chose this week’s Food Matters Project assignment, Quinoa Tabbouleh. It reminded me of a recipe for quinoa tabbouleh I made a few years ago (it’s the image at the top of this page!) but I haven’t had it since. This time, I went beyond the tomatoes and cukes and threw in whatever I had in my fridge — leftover roasted Turkish eggplant from Eastern Market, red pepper, Cherokee tomatoes, white beans. I didn’t have a lemon, so I used a bit of red wine vinegar as a stand-in acidic ingredient and it worked fine. This was a great clean-out-the-fridge recipe and a yummy accompaniment to white fish breaded with cornmeal.

Find the original recipe at Simply Whole Kitchen and see other variations from the FMP members here.

Quinoa Tabbouleh, adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup water
2 small Cherokee tomatoes (or other good fresh tomatoes)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup roasted eggplant, chopped
handful fresh cilantro, washed, stemmed and chopped
3/4 cup cooked white beans
sprinkle of red wine vinegar
olive oil, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)

Bring the water to a boil and add the quinoa. Reduce the heat to low and cover it, cooking for about 10-12 minutes or until it’s fluffy. (If your package directions say otherwise, feel free to follow those.) Use the time while they cook to chop the vegetables. Combine the above ingredients from the quinoa through the white beans in a large bowl, then begin to add the vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes bit by bit, tasting as you go until you have a combination you like.

Related posts:

The Food Matters Project: Crisp Rice Cakes with Stir-Fried Vegetables and Chicken
The Food Matters Project: Mixed Grill with Chimichurri
The Food Matters Project: Roast potatoes and chicken with romesco
The Food Matters Project: Raspberry Cabernet Sorbet