The perfect Valentine’s Day dinner for me always includes cooking in!  Who wants to deal with the crowds and getting pushed though a restaurant that is charging double for a tasting menu?  Cooking for someone shows them how much you love them.  So surprise the one you love tonight with a candlelit dinner for two!

Eggplant Wrapped Quinoa

Serves 4

What you’ll need:

1 large eggplant, ends cut off and sliced thin lengthwise

1 cup quinoa, cooked according to directions on package

a handful of spinach, chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/8 cup raisins

8-10 basil leaves

tomato sauce (your recipe or mine)

What you’ll do:

Grill or broil the eggplant with some salt and olive oil until browned and soft.  Set aside.  Cook the quinoa according to the package.  When done, stir in the raisins, nuts, and spinach.  Heat up your tomato sauce on the stove.

On a clean workspace, lay out a slice of eggplant.  Place a basil leaf in the middle of it and dollop a spoonful of quinoa on it.  Carefully roll the eggplant up and place either on a plate with the tomato sauce on it (like in the picture) or in a 9X9 baking dish with some tomato sauce at the bottom.  Continue until you’ve rolled all your eggplant.  Serve immediately or you can refrigerate the baking dish full and reheat them in the oven.  You could also top them with cheese if you are into it 😉

Enjoy!

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