Roasted aubergine with garlic quinoa and basil pesto

I think this is going to be the start of a few ‘working lunch’ blog posts. I’m spending the summer waitressing in Cornwall and, after the first two weeks of cereal and vitamin tablets, I have finally thrown myself back in the kitchen. It may seem unlike me to go so long without cooking properly, but it took me a fair old while to get acclimatised to the staff house kitchen… any current/ex uni student will know exactly what I mean. But now, £40 worse off (thanks to a shopping trip to buy the essential utensils – I was advised against using the residing pots and pans), I am now in a fit state to cook… without too much risk to my health! The recipes to come will definitely be on a student budget, but I’ll try to add optional extras to enhance the dishes for those among us who are less restricted by price. I’m also planning to do a bit of a shopping trolley post at the end of each week to show what I bought to make the week’s dishes, and how much it all cost.

 

Making the most of my 15mins break... lunch on the beach.

 

 

Student food is rarely healthy, and for me it became even worse as I’d cook none of my own food and just snack away the day at work on sweet potato chip sandwiches (yes, they are amazing, but no, you shouldn’t live off them!) So now, at the beginning of week three, I am determined to make a change and this quinoa recipe is my first step into the realms of healthy food on my own budget (and quite often with very little prep time).

To make it a little more exciting, I’d serve it on a bigger platter with rocket and perhaps some lightly grilled feta and a few toasted pine nuts.

Ingredients:

Serves 1

• Half an aubergine
• 1 clove garlic, whole, slightly crushed
• 60g quinoa
• Olive oil
• 2tsp pesto

Method:

·         Preheat the oven to 200 degrees c fan.

·         Thinly slice the aubergine (about half a cm thickness), place on a baking tray and spray/brush the slices with oil.

·         Cook until cooked through and slightly crisp on the outside (about 20 minutes)

·         Meanwhile, place quinoa in a saucepan with the clove of garlic and enough boiling water to fill the saucepan about an inch above the level of the quinoa.

·         Cook according to pack instructions (normally suggests to simmer for about 15mins until cooked, ensuring the water does not run out).

·         Drain once cooked and remove the garlic clove.

·         Serve quinoa topped with the aubergine slices and add a few small spoonfuls of pesto (or stir the pesto through the quinoa.