Black Rice Salad with Butternut Squash and Aubergine
This is one of those dishes I somehow managed to turn into a seriously tasty dinner by just throwing the last few things I had in the fridge together. Don’t you love when that happens? I went to one of my favorite restaurants in Houston a few weeks ago (BCN Taste & Tradition), and tried so many new dishes, one of them being squid ink rice. The taste was unreal but one of the things I loved most was the contrast of color between the really deep black rice and the white plate and seafood on top – it was so beautiful. So I had this black rice (as close as this home cook is going to get to squid ink rice) sitting in my pantry for weeks and I figured now was the time to whip it out.
Oh man… this salad came out so wonderful – the lemon zest and juice, combined with the fresh herbs, sweet butternut squash, and eggplant gave it such a fresh, clean flavor. My boyfriend wasn’t planning on coming over for dinner but I loved it so much I had to call him to come over to taste some :).
Ingredients
- 1/2 butternut squash, cut into cubes
- 1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 cup black rice cooked
- 5 tbsp. onion, minced
- 1/2 cup parsley, minced
- 10 mint leaves, minced
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- zest of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper, to taste
- garlic and onion powder, a few dashes
- 1 tbsp. pistachios
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package instructions. Pre heat oven to 400 degrees F. Lay parchment paper out on a baking sheet (I used foil because I ran out, but I prefer parchment). Brush olive oil onto the parchment paper and sprinkle with salt. Lay out the butternut squash and eggplant, drizzle with olive oil and salt, and place in the oven for 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir the squash, turn the eggplant over, and place back in the oven. After 4 more minutes remove the eggplant and continue to cook the squash until tender, about 30 minutes total.
- Once the rice has finished cooking and cools, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Adjust seasonings accordingly, I had to add a bit of salt at the end and a little more olive oil.
This dish sounds amazing. I always love when you use eggplant in dishes because I’m so not creative when it comes to eggplant, but I do love it. You always have awesome ideas for it.
Yum! This salad sounds so good!
I didn’t know there was black rice. Does it have a different flavor? This looks delightful. This would be a perfect summer meal!
Black rice is so wonderful!! It was a bit more grainey than regular and a little less flavor.. thats why I loved the crunch it gave with the brightness of the lemon and herbs!