It’s been a minute or two since I’ve posted a Buddha Bowl recipe on here, despite my sudden wave of savoury creations. They’re one of my favourite things to order when eating out because I’m such a salad queen and literally have an obsession with vegetables. I went out for Dim Sum recently and ordered a side of broccoli with Oyster Sauce (an excellent choice FYI) and they literally brought me an entire broccoli’s worth in a bowl. You can imagine how happy this made me. Juts sitting there, tucking into my huge bowl of broccoli without a care in the world. Yes, I’m aware I sound like a bit of a crazy person right now.
Writing this has also just prompted me to think about the way that I write actually and I was talking to someone about this the other day. one of the main reasons why I love having a blog space here on the internet is because I’ve always really enjoyed writing and English was one of my favourite subjects at School. Sadly I’m not much of a reader; although this is something that I’m quite keen to get more into. Writing however, is something that I love and find that I can just get so into the zone for hours! I find it a lot easier to express my feelings and emotions through text, as opposed to verbally and it helps me to organise my thoughts and feel much calmer.
I try and keep my blog as natural as possible and write about things that I love and feel passionate about.. so basically just whatever comes to mind at the time. You’ll probably have noticed that some recipes are accompanied by a lot more text than others and not everything is even related to the recipe itself. I think that originally I thought that people would visit the blog purely for the recipe content and just scroll straight down to that; after all, that is kinda’ what I’m here for so I wouldn’t blame you. As times gone by, so many people have spoken to me about reading my blog posts and mentioned things that I’ve spoken about or my style of writing, which is always a little strange, but really nice haha.
Anyway, point of this whole ramble is I like to write like I’m actually having a conversation with people and juts allow things to flow as naturally as possible. Social media shows such a selective snapshot into people’s lives and I want this to be a place where things are a bit more realistic and you can get to know a bit more about me I suppose.
However, I have just side-tracked quite substantially, so I will of course get on with talking about some food. Speaking of talking to you guys through, something that I love to do is chat about new products and foods that I’ve tried and have been enjoying. I’ve recently started working with Salter, who’s products I already love and their waffle maker gets an awful lot of use in my kitchen! I’ve linked that here for you. It’s SO good. As are waffles. For this recipe I’ve used their DuoSteam which is a double level microwave steamer that you can use for cookies veggies, fish and various other things. You could also pop the steamer compartments on top of a pan if you so wish. Steaming food is a really quick and healthy way of cooking and this piece of kit actually means you can pretty much cook a whole meal in one steamer. It’s great for cooking veggies, potatoes and even things like salmon. I’ve always been a huge fan of steaming veggies over boiling them, as I find this helps to retain that vibrant colour, flavour and nice bit of crunch! The silicone material makes this super easy to clean and it doesn’t take up a lot of space in the cupboard; which is ideal when you have a kitchen as jam packed as mine!
I’ve used the steamer to cook up some of my fave tender stem broccoli for this salad bowl, which is a super fresh and flavourful dish that’s perfect for summer. Buddha bowls are a great way to use up a variety of leftover veggies you have in your fridge and pack a meal full of different colours and nutrients. For a nice bit of fibre and plant based proteins, I’ve added in some delicious crispy cooked chickpeas in a little curry spice. Chickpeas are undoubtedly my favourite legume and I adore them when they’re sautéed in spices and go all crunchy! SO good.
Ingredients- Serves 2 people
- 1 can chickpeas- drained and rinsed
- Tsp curry paste
- Tsp olive oil
- 2 Handfuls salad leaves of choice
- 2 Handfuls alfalfa sprouts
- Handful Cherry tomatoes
- 200g tenderstem broccoli
- Handful pomegranate seeds
- 2 tbsp light tahini
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- Pinch ground turmeric
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Water as needed
- Tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 Clove crushed garlic
Method
To cook the broccoli, place into your Salter Duo Steam and fill the bottom section with a little water. Pop this into the microwave for 3-5 minutes to stem until vibrant and tender.
Meanwhile, heat a little olive oil in a frying pan over medium to high heat and add in the curry spices and chickpeas. Cook until golden and slightly crisp.
For the dressing, combine the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, turmeric and maple syrup, then mix well. Gradually pour in a little water whilst mixing until you’re left with a smooth, pourable consistency.
To assemble the bowls, layer the salad leaves, sprouts, sliced tomatoes, cooked chickpeas and broccoli. Sprinkle over some pomegranate seeds and add a generous helping of the dressing.
