This Middle Eastern quinoa salad boasts a variety of earthy, fresh ingredients; roasted eggplant and sweet potatoes seasoned with sumac and cumin, topped with crunchy pine nuts and tart pomegranates.
My inspiration for naming this dish was mainly due to the addition of the Middle Eastern spices, sumac and cumin. These are two of my favourite spices to cook with; sumac with his lemony, tart bite, and cumin with its earthy spice add a unique depth of flavour to this light, mild-tasting salad.
Roasting the eggplant and sweet potatoes lends for a sweeter, more flavourful dish, as they are cooked until lightly caramelized and tender. The addition of pine nuts adds a creamy, crunchy texture while the pomegranate seeds add crunch and a tart bite that balances out all the sweet undertones in the salad.
This warm fall-inspired salad is hearty enough to be served as a main, especially for vegetarian or vegan members of the family or as an interesting side dish to accompany meat or fish.
Ingredients
(Serves 4-6 as a side dish)
1 large eggplant (about 2 cups), chopped into 2 inch cubes
1 large sweet potato (about 1 1/2 cups), chopped into 2 inch cubes
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. dried cumin
1/2 – 1 tsp. sumac (optional)
2 cups uncooked quinoa
seeds from 1/2 pomegranate
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted or raw
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Chop the eggplant, sweet potatoes, and onion then place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Toss with olive oil, cumin, sumac and salt and pepper until coated.
Cook at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until the vegetables are fork tender.
In the meantime, cook the quinoa in a medium saucepan then set aside. For quinoa cooking instructions, look HERE.
Once the eggplant and sweet potatoes are cooked, remove them from the pan and add to a large serving bowl with the quinoa. Mix with a large spoon until combined.
Garnish with fresh pomegranates and pine nuts. Serve warm or at room temperature.
This salad keeps well in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 3 days however, if you prepare enough for leftovers only garnish the portion you are serving with the pomegranate seeds as they will soften and loose their flavour and crunch if they sit too long in the fridge.
I love Quinoa. But I have not seen it made in so long. My kids loved it as babies.
Just reading that ingredients list made me imagine a taste explosion in my mouth. So many textures and flavors … yum!
I’ll admit that I wasn’t much of a quinoa fan at first, but it’s growing on me. The dish that you created and featured looks divine!
Thank you! It takes getting used to…it’s a textural thing, I think!
I love Quinoa. It is something that my kids have eaten since they were babies.
Mine love it too…my son hates rice but he’ll eat quinoa any day?!
I have not tried Quinoa yet. This looks like a delicious dish to try it. I will have to make some up this weekend.
I’ve recently been obsessed with quinoa! This recipe looks great and I’m going to have to try this sometime soon!
That happened to me about 3 years ago and now I still can’ get enough of it! I have a ton of other quinoa recipes on the Blog you might want to check out 😉
What’s not to love, every main ingredient is delish. I like any excuse too, to use pomegranate seeds. 🙂 Pinning it.
They are my faves too! I try to add sweet potates to everything and pomegranates are my secret addiction…I eat 2-3 a day!!
Yum! I love Quinoa! It’s so filling!
It is! My husband thinks I’m crazy when I tell him that…he’s a pasta kind of guy, lol!
This looks like something that I would like. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe, I may have to try it.
I love roasted vegetables and quinoa. Definitely going to have to give this a try soon.
Me too…I love them separately so I figured they would go great together!
I’ve got to try your recipe soon. I’ve been wanting to try quinoa but haven’t yet.
Thats one good looking salad, never had quinoa before so definitely something to try this year
I find people have either not tried it or eat it all the time!! I’m sure once you do try it, you’ll love it! It has a similar texture to other grains but with a nutty bite!
I will definitely give it a try and see if its something i can incorporate into my meals
I’ve never tried quinoa with Middle Eastern ingredients. I’m
giving this a try for later!
I’m a huge fan of quinoa, I’ll have to try this recipe out!
This looks delicious! I love quinoa, and middle Eastern flavors are one of my favorites.
I haven’t try this recipe, looks tasty and delicious at the same time its nutritious. Thanks for wonderful recipe.
I wish I were a bit more bold with recipe flavors. I would never have thought to use pomegranates in something like this.
That’s why there are these recipes to inspire you, lol!
Now this is right up my alley! Wow– it looks absolutely delicious!
I am loving this post…not just because of the fab recipe (I love Quinoa AND pomegranate seeds too!), but because your blog looks so fresh and the pictures really stand out. Great job! 🙂
Thank you SO much!!! I make such an effort with my photos…and by no means am I a photographer! It’s a work in progress 😉
Quinoa is so amazing, but I have never had it dressed up like this before. It looks amazing, I would love to try it.
I love quinoa! It’s so versatile-just as much as rice or pasta.
I am into something like that.. it looks very appetizing! I am sure the sweet potato adds to the flavorings.
I am not a huge fan of eggplant, so I might take that out. Otherwise, this looks so delicious and colorful! I wish I could have it for lunch!
You could substitute with zucchini…or add a green veg, like kale or spinach!
Whoa. That looks really good and really healthy too. It looks gorgeous too, so many colors! I need to try this!
It always helps when your meals are appealing to the eye!
oooh! I’ve already pinned this. I love finding new quinoa recipes, and I love the pop of color from the pomegranate!
Awesome!! Thanks for sharing 😉
That looks delicious. I really love how healthy it is. I have cooked with quinoa before and I actually really like it. I’ll have to try this out soon, thanks!
I love quinoa!! It’s a great grain choice for me because I eat gluten-free!
You are speaking to my heart!!! I just bought a massive bag of quinoa last week. It’s super expensive here for some reason (almost $15!!!) but it does last. Looks like I have a yummy new recipe to try out. Thanks!!
Nice!! Yes, it IS pricey…I think it’s doubled in the last while because of supply and demand! You should check out these other quinoa recipes;
http://www.bitesforbabies.com/recipes/quinoa-pizza-muffins/
http://www.bitesforbabies.com/recipes/quinoa-sweet-potato-hash-and-eggs/
http://www.bitesforbabies.com/recipes/baked-quinoa-oatmeal-apple-pie/
This sounds delicious! I’m a big fan of Middle Eastern food. It has such unique flavors and textures. I can’t wait to try this!
I know this isn’t truly authentic however, there are a lot of Middle Eastern-inspired ingredients 😉
I’ve bee saying that I have to try making quinoa one day soon. Just not confident I would be able to make it edible lol! This recipe looks so delicious!
Of course you could!! It’s like cooking rice or pasta. It lends to a ton of different recipes (refer to the comment above with the recipe links!) 😉
This looks so yummy and another one that I think my whole family would enjoy. 🙂
You mentioned a while back that you don’t eat red meat…do your kids eat it? Mine are so turned off of meat right now, which works for me because they seem to be enjoying dishes like this lately much more 😉
This looks so yummy and another one that I think my whole family would enjoy. 🙂
You mentioned a while back that you don’t eat red meat…do your kids eat it? Mine are so turned off of meat right now, which works for me because they seem to be enjoying dishes like this lately much more 😉
This looks so good. I wasn’t a fan of quinoa until recently and now I can’t get enough of it.
That’s how I felt too when I started eating it! I don’t eat it as much as I used to (maybe because the price has doubled?! lol!).
This looks so good. I wasn’t a fan of quinoa until recently and now I can’t get enough of it.
That’s how I felt too when I started eating it! I don’t eat it as much as I used to (maybe because the price has doubled?! lol!).
another yummy recipe!!!!
Thanks! Are you a quinoa fan?
Yes i love it
Me too! It’s too bad it’s become so expensive…I used to eat it ALL the time! ;-(
another yummy recipe!!!!
Thanks! Are you a quinoa fan?
Yes i love it
Me too! It’s too bad it’s become so expensive…I used to eat it ALL the time! ;-(