Recipe: Vegan Eggplant Chutney with Basil & Quinoa

Sometimes it gets colder outside and you just want to eat something warm. Other times, you realize you bought a perfect eggplant a week ago and you'd better use it soon or you may as well just throw away the money you spend on wasted produce. And sometimes, these two occasions fall on the same day, so you have to figure out kill two birds with one stone.

That day was today, which brings me to this fairly simple, cold-weather recipe for eggplant chutney with basil & quinoa. 

What you'll need:

• 1 eggplant, diced
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 4 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 zucchini, julienned
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, cut into ribbons
• 1 cup quinoa

How to do it:

Combine the tomato sauce and 3/4 cup of water in pot or dutch oven (thanks for the recommendation, Gary) on the stove. Mix in the cumin and cayenne pepper, and bring it to a boil. 

Once it's bubbling, fold in the eggplant, onion and tomato pieces. Reduce the heat, cover it and let it simmer for forty-five minutes, stirring occasionally.

While your chutney is simmering, add a half cup of water to a separate skillet and toss in your julienned zucchini. Turn the heat on low, and cover. Let it cook, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, get your quinoa going. Always use 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa. I generally buy Nature's Earthly Choice because it's quick, taking only 15 minutes, but depending on how long yours takes, you might want to get this going first, as some kinds can take up to an hour to cook.

That's it! Everything should finish cooking around the same time. Top with the fresh basil ribbons (which I hope you're growing in a windowsill herb garden by now... haven't you learned anything from this blog?) and a bit of salt and pepper. I also topped it with some bite-sized corn muffins I had in the oven while the rest was on the stove, which added a southern kick to this hearty stewed chutney.