Spring Grain Bowl
Spring has sprung and we wanted to provide an easy and healthy way to celebrate the season by honoring gardens everywhere coming to life. Vegetable grain bowls became a staple in our kitchen when we made efforts to cut down on our meat consumption. The music pairings came to mind this week based off track and artist names along with fitting that spring vibe. Felix Laband’s “Down the Garden Path”, is a track brought to our attention by our good friend, Dino from SpyBar Chicago, many years back! A more recent find for us is Lemon Jelly’s “A Tune for Jack” but it’s nothing new for them as they have been making music since 1998 and this track was released in 2000! Happy beet, satisfied soul!
Ingredients
1 cup of quinoa
1 leek
1 egg (optional)
6 asparagus
½ zucchini
1 rainbow carrot
1 turnip
1 shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 lemon
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tbs honey
Crushed red pepper
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
Coconut oil
Peach Ginger sauce
2 peaches
1 knuckle ginger
½ avocado
5 stems of Cilantro including leaves
1 lemon grass stalk
1 tbs rice wine vinegar
1 tbs hot sauce (preferred Burn- Bulgarian Carrot)
¼ cup Olive oil
Salad
Micro greens
1 radish
Goat cheese (optional)
A piece of the peach saved from the sauce.
The stems from the asparagus listed above
Olive oil
Prepare 1 cup of quinoa per the package instructions, once simmering begin to prepare veggies. Wash and pat dry all produce. I like to shop local and buy produce from my local co-op. Organic produce is preferred as well.
Start by preparing the ginger peach sauce. Remove ¼ of one of the peaches and set aside for the salad. The remaining peaches cut into slices removing the pit. Leave the skin on and either grill or broil on high for around 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. Skin and dice the ginger knuckle and place in a food processor or blender. Once cooled, skin the peaches and place in the blender. Add ½ of a ripe avocado, rice vinegar, diced cilantro and salt and pepper to the mix. Blend until smooth and add hot sauce and a 1/4 cup olive oil. Zest 1 tbs of lemon grass and add to the sauce. Puree for a few additional minutes, adding additional oil if you would like to thin it out. Taste and add any additional flavor needed. Place the sauce in the fridge.
Pre heat the oven to 400. Peel and dice the carrot, turnip, garlic and shallot. Use a tbs of coconut oil and place in an oven safe pan with a lid. Add the honey, Dijon mustard and a sprinkling of crushed red pepper and salt. Bake covered in the oven for 30 minutes.
Cut and dice ½ of a zucchini, leave the skin on. In a cast iron add a tbs of coconut oil and the Worcestershire sauce. Sear the zucchini on high for 3-4 minutes each side. Salt and pepper and remove from heat.
For the crispy fried leek. Cut off the bottom roots and the most of the green top. Slice in half long ways and then dice into celery like pieces. Cut them on the thinner side for more of a crunch. Place a spoonful of coconut oil in a frying pan and allow it to reach medium-high heat. Add in the leek and cook for 7-10 minutes constantly tossing with a spatula to prevent burning. Remove from heat and set on paper towel and sprinkle with salt.
Cut off any bad ends from the asparagus and then cut in half. Leave around 2 inches below the spear. Set aside the stems for the salad and rub the spears in coconut oil and place on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle in salt and squirt of fresh lemon. You can either grill the spears for a few minutes or place your broiler on higher and cook in the oven for a few minutes once the carrots are finished.
In a mixing bowl add a handful of micro greens or any preferred greens. Julienne a few slices of radish and the left over peach. Slice the asparagus stems into thin rounds and add to the mix. Sprinkle in goat cheese if you would like and toss in a tbs of olive oil and salt and pepper. Give the mix a good toss and set aside.
For a poached egg on top I followed this video. A fried egg is also great or soft boiled egg.
Place a scoop of quinoa on the plate, layer with Carrot mixture, zucchini and crispy leek. Lay over asparagus spears and top with fresh salad. If adding an egg, place the egg on top and drizzle in the ginger peach sauce.
You can add or remove any steps to this dish. Veggie grain bowls are a staple in our house and there are so many ways to make them seasonal and fun!
