We are in the middle of very strange times now with regards to food shopping. Can you maintain a healthy, whole food, based diet while hunkering down at home? Check out this recipe for an easy and delicious dinner that you can customize to suit even your pickiest of eaters. The golden sauce hits on savory, sweet, salty, and garlicky notes, and it’s golden hue brightens up any winter day. I did add some sour cream and shredded cheese to my bowl, but you could easily sub non dairy cheese, or just leave these off to make a vegan version.
Start with your favorite grains (I used brown rice, but feel free to sub quinoa, bulgar, or even a short pasta like orzo), add your choice of beans, greens, sliced avocado, peppers, a handful of cilantro, sliced olives, then top it with the sauce. I used canned beans, but you could for sure use dried beans. The hardest, or most time consuming part of this is the prep, so if you slice your veggies and cook your beans and rice ahead of time, you will have a quick and easy supper ready in minutes. Feel free to adjust the ingredients based on your tastes and what you currently have on hand.
Try this recipe and let me know what you think!
Golden Bowl
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked brown rice
- 1 can (or about 2 cups) cooked black beans
- 3/4 can (or about 1 cup) cooked garbanzo beans (you will use some of these in the sauce recipe below…)
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 Tbsp of tamari or soy sauce
- 1 bunch of kale, chopped
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 handful of cilantro
- 2 Tbsp sliced black olives
- 1 Tbsp golden sauce (see below for recipe)
- Optional toppings: 2 Tbsp sour cream, and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese
Golden Sauce:
- 1/3 cup cooked garbanzo beans (save the rest of the can to use in the bowl)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- juice and zest from one lemon
- 2 Tbsp of nutritional yeast
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup water
To make the sauce: Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If you make it ahead and store it in the fridge it will thicken a little. Add more water, and shake it up, to thin it if needed. I ended up with a pourable salad dressing type consistency.
Directions:
- Prepare golden sauce (you can do this up to three days ahead)
- Cook rice as directed.
- Saute kale for a couple of minutes in coconut oil, then add tamari.
- Warm beans.
- Assemble your bowl: layer about 1/4 cup rice, 1/4 cup black beans, 1/3 cup garbanzos, 1/4 of the cooked kale, 1/4 of the sliced avocado, 1/4 of the sliced peppers, 1 tsp olives, and as much cilantro as you like. Drizzle a spoonful of golden sauce on top, add your (optional) sour cream, and cheese, and serve! This will make 2-4 bowls depending on your appetite, so just about perfect for a family of four.