Blackening Spice Eggplant Salad
Happy Spring! It’s finally here! Some days it feels like Spring is in the air but other days, it reminds me it’s still March and here in Massachusetts, we have the craziest weather. One day it’s cold, one day it’s warm! Regardless of the weather, I know spring is slowly trickling in. To celebrate the new season, I made blackening spice eggplant salad.
Eggplants
Eggplants are one of my favorite foods to eat. I don’t buy them much since my husband isn’t a huge fan. However, my husband was pleasantly pleased with this blackening spice eggplant salad! My kids like it but when I make Eggplant Pizza. We all know chicken salads can get tiresome. I wanted to try something different, as I’ve never made an eggplant salad.
I decided to thinly slice a medium sized eggplant and generously season each side with blackening spice. You may have noticed, this is my new obsession. I have made Blackened Shrimp Salad With Red Kidney Beans and Blackened Chicken Salad With Feta Cheese with this spice, as well.
You Will Need:
- blackening spice (I purchased mine at Whole Foods)
- eggplant
- kale
- lettuce
- cabbage
- cherry tomatoes
- cucumbers
- radishes
- lime
- olive oil
- cooking spray (optional)
- strawberries
- parmesan cheese (optional)
How to Make
I used a large non stick frying pan to make the eggplant. Because the eggplant was thinly sliced, it took a few batches to cook. About 3-4 minutes per side. You can use olive oil to cook the eggplant but I opted for cooking spray. You get a nice browned eggplant slice without the extra oil. Once the eggplant is done cooking, use the same pan to cook the kale.
The rest of the ingredients are raw. All you have to do is wash, dry, cut and prepare. Add the kale, top with eggplant slices and sprinkle some fresh parmesan cheese (totally optional). Drizzle some olive oil, season salad with salt and squeeze some fresh lime. And it is ready to eat!
Blackening Spice Eggplant Salad
Course: SaladsCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy2
servings15
minutes25
minutes40
minutesCelebrate Spring with this refreshing meat free salad!
Ingredients
1 medium eggplant, skinned and thinly sliced
1 1/2 tbsp of blackening spice
2 large cups of kale
2 large cups of lettuce, shredded
2 cups of red cabbage, shredded
2 radishes, cut into slices
3 strawberries, sliced in half
1/2 cup of cucumber slices
1/4 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 lime
olive oil, for dressing
salt
parmesan cheese, shredded (for topping)
cooking spray (optional)
Directions
- Generously season both sides of eggplant slices with blackening seasoning. Take a large non-stick pan and heat pan to MED HI. Use cooking spray (preferred) or drizzle of olive oil, per batch. Don’t crowd the pan, for even cooking. Cook each side for 3-4 minutes. And set aside.
- Once eggplant slices are cooked, use the same pan to cook the kale. Use cooking spray or a drizzle of olive oil. Lower heat to MED and cook for about 6 minutes, occasionally tossing for even cooking. Set aside.
- Prepare salad – to serve 2 – add the lettuce, cooked kale, cabbage, radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes and strawberries. I added 3 strawberries to each plate. Add the eggplant, top with fresh parmesan and add dressing. For the dressing I added a drizzle of olive oil, seasoned the salad with salt and squeezed fresh lime.
- Enjoy!
Spring Salad
This salad is the perfect spring salad to make. Its light and refreshing. Eggplant is a great meat substitute. You don’t feel like your missing something. A little bit of everything. I added strawberries for that spring feel and it really made a difference!
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Happy Spring!
Happy Spring to you too! This recipe is great – I never know how to prepare eggplant!
Thanks Meg! Happy spring! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Looks delicious, Azilde! We really like roasted eggplant pizza with red onions & a vegan mozzarella that I make. I’ve never tried a blackening spice. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for sharing! ?
Thanks Lisa! Your roasted eggplant pizza sounds amazing! I will I have to try your recipe as well! Thank you and enjoy! ?