When it comes to plant based dishes, a buddha bowl has to be one of my long term favourites! You can pretty much pile your bowl high with all of the delicious veggies, potatoes, grains and whatever else you desire, top the whole thing with a super tasty dressing and there you have it! They’re a great way of using up any leftovers you have lying around in the fridge, whilst providing you with a nutrient packed meal.
I actually used to pay rather extortionate amounts for these kinds of dishes in cafes all around London back when I first made the discovery that not all vegan food consisted of dry salad leaves. I was slightly obsessed to be quite frank with you. There was one particular cafe that I just loved and would honestly travel all the way from Surrey (my home town) twice a week to have lunch. I visited so frequently, that the owners genuinely thought I was local to the area.
ANYWAY.
Enough about my strange habits and food obsessions and more about the actual recipe that I wanted to share with you today. This particular bowl has a slight Mexican theme as I’ve partnered with Merchant Gourmet for Veganuray to show you a delicious and simple way of using their Mexican style grains and pulses. These literally couldn’t be more simple to prepare and are so handy to have in your cupboard or to take to work with you for a quick addition to a meal that you can just throw into a pan or the microwave.
Pulses are a good source of plant based protein and are a really affordable way to bulk up meals and transform a limp salad to something really hearty and filling. These are so convenient and really help to make sure that I’m reaching for something healthy rather than just whatever is the quickest!
Ingredients
- 300g potatoes
- Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 pack Merchant gourmet Mexican style grains
- 1 ripe avocado
- Juice from half a lemon
- Salt and pepper
- Tbsp olive oil
- Large handful of kale per serving
- Chilli flakes to garnish
- Dressing:
- Tbsp light tahini
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1 clove garlic- grated
- Tbsp honey or agave syrup
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200c.
- Chop the potatoes into bite-sized chunks and pop these onto a baking dish.
- Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle over the spices and a little salt and pepper.
- Pop these into the oven to roast for around 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mash together the avocado, lemon juice, olive oil and salt & pepper.
- To make the dressing, mix together all of the ingredients and add a drizzle of water if needed to create a pourable consistency. Pour a little of the dressing over the kale and massage this in.
- Cook the Mexican style grains according to the instructions on the packet, then assemble your bowls by layering the grains, kale, cooked potatoes and mashed avocado.
- Drizzle over a generous helping of the dressing and finish with a pinch of crushed chilli flakes.