Amazing aubergine and wild rice salad

It is aubergine Saturday in our house and whilst aubergine Saturday may not be celebrated officially yet I am sure it is just a matter time. I’m going to kick start by cooking an amazing aubergine salad for lunch.

Rice is a real staple of any coeliac or gluten free diet and can ensure that you get enough complex carbohydrates in your diet. However, rice can get a bit dull when you are eating it all the time so today I’m going to mix it up with some long grain and wild rice. Wild rice is a great addition to rice dishes as it is higher in protein and lower in calories than long grain rice. In this recipe I used pre mixed rice and wild rice and begin by cooking the rice for 15 – 20 minutes until light, fluffy and cooked through.

Whilst the rice is cooking I prepare all the yummy veg for the salad and the timings are great as it means that by the time the rice is cooked lunch is ready! I chop aubergine into approximately 1 cm sized cubes, obviously these are ‘rustic’ cubes, don’t worry about appearance as it all about the taste! I then cook this in a pan with a little olive oil, a chopped garlic clove and a small amount of chopped red chilli. I stir this through as it cooks for 10 minutes and I really enjoy the great smell the aubergine, garlic and chilli give off, it’s really hard not to eat it straight out of the pan. Chop 1 large vine tomato and then add this and cook for another 5 minutes.

As I am impatient and sometimes a little keen to eat all the lovely food I’m cooking I cool the rice off by pouring cold water through the sieve after I have drained the hot water off. I finely chop spinach and round lettuce to bulk up the salad and add some extra tasty salad flavours. It is now literally time to mix the rice, aubergine and salad vegetables together and lunch is served. This is delicious served with balsamic vinegar and a little bit of olive oil to make a yummy dressing.