I’m presently doing a free four-week course on Future Learn called “Nutrition and Wellbeing”.  I thought I knew all about healthy eating, but the course has provided me with an education on matters that I wasn’t aware of or knew little about.

Today I have been listening and learning about diet choices: fish oils and sustainable fishing, the impact of the diet on cardiovascular disease and food and cancer prevention.

I am keen – not just because of the course, to include more grain, pulses and legumes into my meals and to cut down on weekly meat consumption.  We are presently enjoying our home grown courgette and tomato harvest.  This isn’t a big deal for me, as I rarely eat meat and enjoy experimenting with recipes – so this is todays “experiment” which was lovely!

Mediterranean Vegetable & Quinoa Bake

Preparation Time:              45 mins
Cooking Time:                    40 mins
Serves:                                     2
Calories per serving:        437.8

Ingredients

Red onion                                                                             –    50g
Garlic, raw                                                                            –    2 Cloves/6g
Cherry tomatoes on the vine                                          –    450g
Extra virgin olive oil                                                          –    3 Tsps/15ml
Aubergine, medium                                                           –    1 Med/375g
Courgette                                                                               –    316g
Mixed Herbs                                                                          –    2 Tsps/10g
Quinoa, red & white, with bulgar wheat (Tesco)       –    100g
Panko Breadcrumbs                                                           –    40g
Mozzarella cheese, grated                                                –    60g
Coriander leaves, fresh                                                      –  20g

Preparation
Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees. Cut the aubergine into 5cm slices lengthwise. Cut the courgettes into diagonal or lengthwise sides. Peel and finely dice the red onion and garlic. Grate the cheese and mix with the breadcrumbs.  Roughly chop the coriander leaves.

Cook the quinoa mixture (100g) as directed on the packet and set aside to cool.

Method
Lay aubergine and courgette slices on a baking tray and drizzle with 2tsp of the olive oil and half the herbs.

Halve the tomatoes and place on a baking sheet cut side uppermost, drizzle with 1 tsp of the olive oil and sprinkle the remainder of the herbs over the top.

Place both baking sheets into the oven for about 25 – 30 minutes (aubergine tray) and 15 mins (tomatoes).

In the meantime, heat 1tsp of oil in a small frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onions. Do not allow to brown. Once they are translucent, add the garlic and continue to cook for about 2 – 3 minutes.

In a shallow medium sized oven proof dish, layer first the slices of aubergine, then the slices of courgette. Then sprinkle the onion and garlic mixture over and finally the cooked tomatoes.

Once the quinoa mixture is cooled, fluff up the grains with a fork and place in a layer of the vegetables, ensuring it is evenly spread.  Sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves evenly on the top.

Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and grated cheese mixture over the top of the quinoa and place the dish into the oven, reducing the heat to 180 degrees, for about 20 – 25 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbling.

Nutrition Data Per Serving
Calories (kcal)                       437.8
Protein (g)                             20.8
Sugars (g)                             15.9
Fibre (g)                                10.9
Fruit & Veg                           7.9
Carbohydrate (g)                   47.0
Fat (g)                                   18.8