So here’s the thing about June in Washington…it actually
feels like October. In fact, as I write this blog post, it is 58 degrees and
sideways raining outside at 4 pm on a mid-June day. So, we can either complain
about it, or embrace it. I’m choosing the latter. I’m wearing one of my coziest
sweatshirts, fuzzy Ugg slippers, and I’m roasting vegetables for Tahini Buddha
Bowls. The upside to 58-degree weather in June? I don’t have to worry about the
oven heating up the kitchen; in fact, that would be a happy byproduct of my
meal prepping since we’ve turned the heat off for the summer.
I’ve posted about my love of Buddha Bowls in the past. Today’s
recipe uses a version of the crispy chickpeas I’ve made with a kale salad in
the past, but I did the chickpeas on the stovetop so I could free up the oven
space for loads of veggies. The best part is that you could easily adapt this
recipe to incorporate almost any ingredients you have on hand—fennel, radicchio,
zucchini, summer squash, corn, leeks, etc. So, happy roasting!
Here’s the recipe for Tahini Buddha Bowls.
Pan-Fried Chickpeas
2 15-oz cans chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
2 teaspoons cumin
1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons canola oil
Vegetables
Olive oil spray + 6 teaspoons olive oil
½ red onion, sliced
1 large butternut squash, cubed
1 large head of broccoli, stems removed and chopped
1 large head of cauliflower, stems removed and chopped
1 bunch dinosaur Kale, stems removed and chopped
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste
Precooked quinoa—about 4 cups worth
1 large ripe Hass avocado
Tahini Sauce
¼ cup tahini
1 tablespoon maple syrup
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons hot water, to thin
Chickpeas: Place the chickpeas and all the herbs in a large
Ziploc bag. Shake until all the chickpeas are evenly coated. Then, heat the
canola oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the
coated chickpeas. Fry until fairly dark in color and slightly crispy, shaking the
pan or moving around with a spatula every few minutes, for about 10 minutes
total. Place chickpeas in a bowl and set aside.
Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line two large baking sheets
with parchment paper. Add the broccoli and cauliflower to one sheet and the
onion and butternut squash to the other. Spray all the vegetables, except the
onion, with olive oil to lightly coat. Drizzle about 2 teaspoons of olive oil
on the red onion. Season both trays with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for
about 30 minutes, checking now and then and moving the vegetables around a bit.
While the vegetables are roasting, use the pan from the
chickpeas and heat the remaining 4 teaspoons of olive oil over medium high
heat. When the olive oil is hot, add the kale, red pepper flakes, salt and
pepper. Sauté for about 10 minutes, or until the leaves are fairly crispy.
Whisk the tahini sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Use hot
water to thin until it’s the right consistency (like a salad dressing).
To assemble the Buddha Bowls, scoop about a cup of quinoa
into each bowl. Top with the various roasted veggies and kale. Drizzle the
tahini sauce over the vegetables and top with crispy chickpeas and several
slices of avocado. Serve with grilled naan and enjoy!
