16 Oct Vicki Sleet’s recipe for a delicious nourish bowl

This recipe is courtesy of Vicky Sleet of I Want That, submitted as part of our recent FaithfulFood Challenge.

I’m a big fan of nourish bowls, also known as Buddha bowls. They’re a fantastic way to eat seasonally, to work with whatever is in your pantry, fridge or garden and, if you dolly it up a bit, they’re economical too since the basic grains and legumes are generally what you would (or should) have in your pantry. They’re a step up from a bog standard salad and they cater for all tastes.

How to build a basic nourish bowl

These are the basic components of a nourish bowl:

• Greens and fresh herbs
• Veggies
• A complex carbohydrate or two ie. grain or pulse – unless you’re banting of course
• Protein (cheese, avocado, quinoa)
• Dressing
• A little extra something like nuts, seeds, sprouts, chilli, onion, edible flowers etc.

Ingredients for this recipe

Here’s what I’ve used in our nourish bowl:

Cos lettuce
Steamed asparagus
Baby carrots
Roasted vine tomatoes
Pak Choi
Corn
Short grain brown rice
Homemade hummus
Grilled halloumi
Avocado
Boiled Egg
Olive Oil
Toasted raw cashews
Lemon Juice

For the hummus
400 g cooked chickpeas
2 tsp tahini
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

Makes 1 nourish bowl

To make the hummus
1. Add ingredients to a food processor or blend with a hand blender.
2. Add more salt to taste.
Optional extra: add flat leaf parsley while blending your hummus.

To make your nourish bowl
1. Wash and separate cos lettuce leaves and line bowl with leaves.
2. Cook brown rice according to instructions and spoon 2 tablespoons into the bowl.
3. Now add steamed, roasted and raw veggies of choice, working your way in a circle to create an attractive bowl
4. Add sliced avo, a halved medium boiled egg, a healthy dollop of hummus and sprouts and drizzle with olive oil. I’m a fan of salt so a good sprinkle of Maldon sea salt and a crunch of black pepper is a must for me.
5. Drizzle with olive oil.

The deal is to make it a visual feast – it’s all part of encouraging people to enjoy their fresh and nutritious offerings. While I can’t imagine it, for some people eating is a chore, and to make food ‘pop’ using colour and texture can make all the difference. As far as variety goes, well you don’t get more varied than a nourish bowl – who doesn’t love a little bit of this and a little bit of that?

Some time-saving tips

1. If you’re not a fan of all-raw veggies take those five-minute gaps in your day and steam then blanch veg for nourish bowls, lunch boxes and snacks on the run.
2. It helps to keep a container of chopped raw veggies in the fridge so when you’re putting your bowls together, the prep time is shortened significantly. The same goes for hummus, brown rice and boiled eggs – all can be made ahead of time and for more than one meal.
3. Use a griddle pan to cook a few things at the same time – from your tomatoes to halloumi and cashews and I also like to toss the asparagus onto a griddle for a few seconds to give it some extra flavour.

Thanks to Vicki Sleet for participating in our #FaithfulFood challenge and for providing this delicious recipe.