Grain bowls were trendy last year, but I didn’t jump on board. Â I didn’t really understand them. Â It seemed like multiple steps and several cooking vessels were required to make something not very fancy.
But then last night, I was trying to plan my work for today. Â I intended to decide on my recipes for the day and then do an evening shop to get all the ingredients. Â But I was tired. Â And uninspired. Â So I decided that I would wake up and “shop” my pantry – put something together from what I had on hand.
I was craving something vibrant and nourishing. I had several jars with small amounts of grains – amaranth, millet, barley, etc. And in my fridge were just the odds and ends leftover from other meals. Then suddenly, the grain bowl clicked for me!
It’s a great way to empty out the crisper drawer. Â And although you might dirty a saucepan AND a baking sheet, it’s a great way to plan ahead and have healthy lunches all week. Â When I worked in an office, I used to make big grain salads every week. Â This is the same thing, just deconstructed.
Use this recipe as a guide, and use up what you have on hand. Â Tied together with a delicious dressing, you really can’t go wrong.
Cook up a big pot of a grain. Â I used millet. Â It’s fluffy and soft like couscous, but is actually a tiny seed. Top that with some roasted and/or raw veggies – I used some leftover butternut squash, and a couple of carrots, plus julienned raw beet and finely shredded raw kale. I added some pumpkin seeds for crunch, and drizzled it all with a delicious lemon-tahini sauce.
If you’re the plan-ahead type, you can prep a big batch of everything over the weekend – wash, dry and chop kale leaves, peel and grate or julienne beets. Â Store then in an airtight container lined with a damp paper towel and they’ll stay fresh for several days. Â Roast veggies and store in a separate container. Â Make a double batch of the dressing.
Toss a bit of everything into a portable container in the morning, just keep the dressing separate.
You can use the prepped veggies in other ways all week, too, if you get tired of the veggie bowl – stuff them into pitas, toss them in your dinner salad, even use them in your breakfast omelettes.
I’m finally sold on the grain bowl trend. Â Now try and convince me about the smoothie bowl. Â Because WHY would anyone pour their smoothie in a bowl and then add more fruit on top? Â I don’t get it.
Millet Nourish Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter or olive oil
- 1 cup millet
- 2 ½ cups water
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- 1 lb any root vegetables carrot, squash, beets, turnips, etc.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 large leaf kale stem removed, finely sliced crosswise
- 1 medium beet peeled, grated or julienned
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
Lemon-Tahini Dressing
- â…“ cup tahini
- â…“ cup lemon juice
- 1 large clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add millet and stir to coat.  Cook, stirring, until golden in spots and toasty-smelling.  Add water and salt, stir, cover, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer until very tender, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
- Peel root vegetables and cut into equal size pieces. Â Toss with olive oil and salt, then spread in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast until tender and caramelized, about 25 minutes.
- Whisk together all ingredients for dressing. Â Divide millet between 4 bowls and top with roasted vegetables, kale, beet and pumpkin seeds. Â Drizzle with dressing and serve.
