Dear Elephants,
It is rare that I bring you a recipe, un-tinkered with and in its entirety, but sometimes a thing just can’t be improved upon.
This healing bowl of wonderful, originally created by Sarah Britton for her cookbook My New Roots, was presented to me on an oddly snowy Valentine’s Day in North Carolina, warming my bones and my heart all at the same time. From that February 14th forward, it has become a tradition in my home.
The pumpkin seed sauce is perfect here, but can be used in almost any savory context; on salad, toast, whole grains, squash or any other thing that needs a little dynamic punch.
Make it for friends, family or yourself, for special occasions or a plain old weeknight. If your tastebuds are anything like mine, it will soon become a staple.
Happy Valentines Day!
Erica
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Winter Abundance Bowl
Serves 2
2/3 cup brown rice
1/3 cup green lentils
¼ – ½ tsp. sea salt
1 head broccoli
1 medium sweet potato (leave the skin on if it’s organic!)
2 cups shredded red cabbage
juice of ½ lemon or lime
drizzle of cold-pressed olive oil
Directions:
1. Combine rice and lentils in a medium bowl, cover with water and wash well, rubbing grains and legumes together. Drain and repeat until water is clear. Cover with water again and soak overnight/for up to eight hours, if possible. Drain and rinse.
2. In a medium saucepan place the rice and lentils, plus 1½ cups water—if soaked (add two cups water if un-soaked), and sea salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook covered until water has been absorbed and rice and lentils are cooked through (about 30-45 minutes depending on if you soaked the grain or not).
3. While the rice and lentils are cooking, chop the broccoli into florets and the sweet potato into bite-sized cubes. About 10 minutes before the grains have cooked (check the water level before adding veggies—if it’s dry, add a little more liquid), add the sweet potato. After five minutes, add the broccoli on top of the sweet potato.
4. While the rice and lentils are cooking you can also blend together the sauce (see below) and prepare the cabbage: Shred cabbage using a mandoline or sharp knife. Toss with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, a drizzle of olive oil and some salt. Toss to combine.
5. To assemble the bowl, simply spoon in the cooked rice and lentils with the steamed veggies, add the cabbage on the side and pour sauce over. Give thanks for the abundance and enjoy.
Garlic-Ginger Pumpkin Seed Sauce
Makes 2 cups
Ingredients:
1 cup/150g pumpkin seeds
3 cloves garlic
knob of fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
¾ -1 cup /175- 250 ml water
¾ tsp. fine grain sea salt
¼ tsp. cracked black pepper
cayenne pepper to taste
Directions:
1. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast pumpkin seeds, stirring every so often, until they begin to pop. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
2. In a food processor, pulse to mince garlic and ginger. Add cooled pumpkin seeds and blend on high until sand-textured. Add remaining ingredients (start with ¾ cup water) and blend, scraping down the sides periodically. Add remaining water as needed to suit your desired consistency. Season to taste. Store in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
This recipe makes quite a lot of sauce, but as it keeps for five days it’s a wonderful thing to have on hand to dress salads, roasted veggies and cooked whole grains. You can easily make half the amount if you know you won’t eat it all in before it spoils.
You can also make a raw version of this sauce. To do so, soak the pumpkin seeds for eight hours, or overnight. Drain and rinse well. Skip step one in the instructions and carry on with the others. Enjoy!
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