Roasted Baby Carrots & Indian Eggplants with Wheat Berries

Need to add more vegetables to your diet and brighten your dinner table with a healthy and colorful dish? Don’t miss out on this simple and nutritious vegetarian treat. Roasted baby carrots and Indian eggplants combined with wheat berries and tossed with maple syrup, pomegranate kernels and cilantro make a delightful warm salad or a side dish that you can serve with any grilled or roasted meat or on its own as an entrée.

For this recipe, I suggest roasting the carrots and eggplants. But grilling will work as well. Roasting or grilling your vegetables will make them tender and caramelized. Their flavors will intensify and acquire that characteristic taste we all appreciate from roasting.

Baby Carrots

Buy baby carrots that are firm (not flimsy), long and skinny. These young carrots are sweeter and juicier but not tough or woody compared to full-grown carrots. You can find them in most grocery stores sold in bunches with their greens still attached. No shaving or scrubbing is required. Most of the goodness in carrots is in, or just below, the skin.

Just don’t confuse them with the “Manufactured baby carrots”. Those mini cut and peeled “Manufactured baby carrots” are what you see most often in the shops packaged into small plastic bags. In fact, they are carrot shaped slices of peeled mature carrots invented in the late 1980’s by Mike Yurosek, a California farmer, as a way of making use of carrots which are too misshapen for sale as “attractive” full-size carrots.

Indian Eggplants

If you are lucky enough and spot these mini beauties in a farmers market or your local grocery store, just buy and roast/grill some with their skin on to experience for yourself that Indian eggplants can be eaten with their skin on.

Indian eggplants are often labeled as baby eggplants in commercial markets due to their small size. They are similar in appearance to the popular Italian variety but smaller in size and much sweeter in flavor. Indian eggplants are an excellent source of fiber and contain some vitamin B6, vitamin K, and potassium. They also contain anthocyanins, which have antioxidant properties.

Wheat Berries

Wheat berries or wheatberries can be purchased at health food stores or health sections of general grocery stores. Cooked wheat berries are a bit chewy and have sweet and nutty taste.

Wheat berries are whole, unprocessed wheat kernels in their most natural form. They are extremely nutritious and offer a crunchy texture. Wheat berries offer all of the nutrients of a whole grain as they contain the germ, endosperm and bran. All wheat products, such as wheat flour, are made from wheat berries.

Wheat berries, like most whole grains, have abundant health benefits. They are an excellent source of dietary fiber, protein and vitamins. I use them in salads, side dishes and hearty soups.

Roasted Baby Carrots & Indian Eggplants with Wheat Berries

4 from 4 votes

Recipe by The Minty Tomato Course: Appetizers, Salads

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

50

minutes

Calories

271

kcal

Total time

50

minutes

Roasted baby carrots and Indian eggplants combined with wheat berries and tossed with maple syrup, pomegranate kernels and cilantro make a delightful warm salad or a side dish.

Ingredients

• 5-6 5-6 Baby carrots

• 5-6 5-6 Indian eggplants

• 1/2 cup 1/2 Wheat berries

• 1.5 cup 1.5 Water

• 1/3 cup 1/3 Pomegranate kernels

• 1/3 tsp 1/3 Sesame seeds (optional)

• 9-10 9-10 Cilantro pruned branches (see photos)

• 1 clove 1 Garlic

• 3 tbsp 3 Extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp 1 Balsamic vinegar

• 1-2 tbsp 1-2 Maple syrup

• 1 tbsp 1 Freshly squeezed Lime juice

• Freshly ground black pepper and coarse salt, to taste

Directions

• In a saucepan, combine wheat berries, salt and water. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat, partially cover with a lid and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until tender.
• Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a baking grill on top of the baking sheet (optional).
• Wash the baby carrots and Indian eggplants. Dry with a paper towel.

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• Trim all but 2-3 inch off the green stems of the carrots. Cut carrots into halves lengthwise.
• Cut Indian eggplants into halves lengthwise as well.
• In a medium bowl, whisk 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp of olive oil. Toss carrots and eggplants in the mixture to coat.
• Place eggplants on the baking grill cut-side down and carrots in any orientation.

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• Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Roast until tender, about 20 minutes. The time will vary depending on the size of the vegetables and your oven. You might turn carrots once during this time. Eggplants will stay cut-side down.
• When tender, turn carrots again and also turn eggplants cut-side up.
• Drizzle maple syrup over carrots.
• Sprinkle minced garlic over eggplants.
• Return baking sheet to the oven and broil for 1.5-2 minutes.
• Remove vegetables from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
• Drain wheat berries and set aside to cool.
• 
  Assemble all salad ingredients on a platter in layers, as follows:
• Place carrots halves on one side of the platter first, followed by wheat berries on another side. Partially cover carrots with wheat berries as well. Top wheat berries with eggplants halves cut side up. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over eggplants and sesame seeds over carrots. Drizzle freshly squeezed lime juice (approximately 1 tsp) and 1 tbsp of olive oil over the entire salad and garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve warm or cold.

Notes

• Keep leftovers refrigerated up to 1 day.
• If you cannot find Indian eggplants, substitute an available variety for them, sliced into 1/4″ rounds.