Sometimes, there are days when my stomach craves for highly nutritional meal which vary with ingredients and is extremely healthy. I grab my pots and bowls and cook grains, bake roots, chop fresh herbs. And though cleaning after such cooking is exhausting, those meals are the best one. That’s why I call them abundance bowls- so delicious, so colorful, so healthy.
When I prepare such complex dish I try to make it as healthy as it’s possible. I add only small amounts of fats and process sugars. On the other side I use plenty od spices and choose as many seasonal ingredients as I can. I also pay attention to texture, the have to differ.
On an autumn abundance bowl one of the main ingredient is quinoa. Delicious, healthy with delicate texture and nutty taste. But what quinoa brings to a dish? First of all quinoa has ALL the exogenous aminoacids. It’s also gluten free and contains easily absorbed calcium. What is more quinoa has very low glicemic index (GI=35) and high amount of dietary fiber.
Another element of the abundance bowl is pumpkin puree/spread. Thanks to tahini and chickpeas it tastes a little bit like a hummus. Chickpeas bring another package of proteins and tahini made of blended sesame seeds is one of the best sources of calcium. A nigella seeds and roasted sesame oil gives this puree a nice twist. I don’t forget abut pumpkin, full of beta-carotene and zinc.
Kale as a seasonal superfood is a must on the autumn plate. I chose to make kale chips with ginger because I want to have something crunchy in my bowl. I think I do not need to introduce you nutritional values of kale, it’s pretty stuffed with nutritional ingredients.
Cherry tomaotes along with fresh chives give this dish a pinch of freshness and rawness.
Of course this dish would be incomplete without roots. I decided to use parsley root. In my opinion parsley is unaprecieted vegetable, rarely shown in whole, mostly used as an addition. I cut it in large pieces, sprinkle with cumin. It fits perfect to hummus like pumpkin puree.
And that’s how the autumn abundance bowl was created.
Autumn abundance bowl:
quinoa with pumpkin, chickpea and tomatoes
Igredients:
4 servings
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cup water/vegetable broth
salt
Pumpkin puree:
2 cup roasted pumpkin*
¼ cup tahini
2 tsp olive oil
2 small onions
1 cup chickpeas (160)
2-3 tsp sesame oil**
nigella seeds
salt
pepper
Kale chips:
3-4 large kale stalks
powdered ginger
salt
2 tsp canola oil
Parsley:
6-7 large parsley roots
1 tbsp canola oil
powdered cumin
salt
pepper
300g cherry toamtoes
fresh chives
*800-900g pumpkin piece before roasting
** or more to taste
Quinoa:
Rinse the quinoa in cold water, to get rid of bitter taste due to saponin content. Bring 2 cups water/stock to a boil in a pan. Add quinoa and salt, then cover it and cook depending on quinoa kind, until most water is absorbed and germs of the seeds show up. Time of cooking:
– white quinoa- about 15 minutes
– black- about 30 minutes, you may need to add extra water
– red- 15-30 minutes.
Drain off any excess water after quinoa is cooked.
Pumpkin:
Roast pumpkin in a large piece in 200C until is soft (sometimes up to 1 hour). To save energy roast it along wirh parsley roots which may need about 40 minutes in the oven.
Meanwhile chop onions and cooked the in the heated olive oil until soft.
Remove seeds and pulp from roasted pumpkin. Drain off the pulp from excess water. Add tahini, chickpeas and blend until smooth. Add fried onions and blend again. Season with salt, pepper, nigella seeds and sesame oil. Serve warm.
Parlsey:
Peet the roots an cut in large pieces. Mix with canola oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and cumin (be generous). Roast for 40-45 minutes, until soft (along with pumpkin).
Kale chips:
Wash and dry kale. Remove leaves from stems and tear the into chips size pieces. In a bowl mix kale with oil. Sprinkle with ginger and salt. Roast in 150C with air flow for about 6-9 minutes until crispy but not burnt.
Cut cheery tomatoes in halves, chop chives.
Serve in a big bowl. Proportions of ingredients on your plate depend on you.
Nutrition info:
1 serving:
495 calories
protein: 20 g; fat: 24 g; carbohydrates: 59 g, dietary fiber: 18,3g;
iron: 7,2 mg; calcium: 215 mg; zinc: 5,9 mg
