Kitchen Trends – Roasted Veggie Grain Bowl with Tahini Dressing

I tend to avoid trends in the kitchen. Even though I read a lot of cooking magazines, I’m always a little late to the party; I’m not one for change. I don’t own an Instant Pot. My second or third unopened tub of miso is still sitting in the back of the refrigerator. I’ve never made a smoothie. I don’t even know what paleo means.

I’ve watched the grain bowl trend warily from a distance. But recently my wife and I were at a tiny Middle Eastern restaurant in Manhattan with one and a half tables, and she ordered one. It was overflowing with seared veggies topped with a lemony tahini dressing, all covering a bed of rice. She got a ball or two of falafel to add the necessary crunch factor. And there were two small salads on the side; a simple Israeli tomato and cucumber salad and a tart cabbage slaw. Both added the bite of acidity needed to cut through the richness of the oily vegetables.

I know it’s healthy and an important environmental step to reduce our meat consumption, and my wife tries to be a vegetarian until dinner, so I decided to recreate the veggie bowl with some twists. I took a plunge and used chewy wheat berries as a base to add substance to the bowl. I decided to roast the vegetables on a searing hot sheet pan, which is very much in vogue itself right now. I topped it with fried shallots. It was delicious, and became an instant part of our dinner rotation, with leftovers making for a tasty lunch, one my wife will eat.

This meal is endlessly adaptable. Switch vegetables in and out depending on what you like and what’s available. Just make sure they are hardy vegetables that can stand up to the high heat of the oven. Use whatever grain you want, picking a gluten-free one if that’s your angle. Mix up the side salads, as long as there is some acidity from lemon juice or vinegar. Add a protein to round it out. While falafel is great, throwing a handful of canned chickpeas into one of the salads (or as the base of a salad on its own) would be a delicious source of protein, and roasting chickpeas takes them to a whole new level. And use lots of herbs. My favorites for this bowl are parsley and cilantro, but dill and basil would work well too. It’s your bowl, use what you like.

With the success of this grain and veggie bowl, maybe now I’ll be a little quicker to try out new cooking trends, rather than just reading about them in magazines. Maybe I’ll even crack that tub of miso.

Roasted Veggie Grain Bowl with Tahini Dressing

I grew up using cheap, crappy cookie sheets. About 15 years ago, I bought a couple of sturdy half sheet pans (the most useful size for a home kitchen) from a bakery in town that was closing. The difference was incredible. They do not warp in the high heat of the oven. They heat evenly. And they have lasted for years, despite my abuse. I use them all the time, for all sorts of baking and roasting in the oven, as well as other kitchen tasks. If you do not own high-quality sheet pans, it’s time to purchase a pair. I have no idea what brand mine are, but Cook’s Illustrated’s top pick is the Nordic Ware Baker’s Half Sheet.

The idea behind this recipe is to cook the vegetables so they are seared on the outside and tender inside. There are three simple tricks to make this happen. First, give them room. Veggies release a lot of water when they cook. If they are too close together, the water can’t evaporate and they will steam instead of browning. (Starting with dry vegetables also will maximize caramelization.) Second, know that different vegetables cook at different rates, so cook them separately; you can mix them when you serve them. Start with the ones that will take longest, and add the others as you cut them. Keep them separate on the sheet pan, and if some vegetables are finished before others, just pull them from the pan so they don’t overcook. You can always put them back to re-heat for a minute or two just before serving. Third, pre-heat the sheet pan. This allows the veggies to start caramelizing as soon as they hit the hot pan. And caramelization is where the flavor is.

These veggie and grain bowls make a great meal to serve guests. You can lay out all of the ingredients like a buffet, and guests can mix and match items they like, tailoring it to their own individual tastes.

about one hour, serves four

For the wheat berries:

1 cup wheat berries, rinsed

½ tsp. salt

For the roasted vegetables:

3 large shallots, thinly sliced into rings

½ cup, plus 1 Tbsp. olive oil, divided, more if needed

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into bite size pieces

1 small head cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces

1 small head broccoli, cut into bite size pieces

1 eggplant, cut into bite size pieces

1 zucchini, cut into bite size pieces

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. freshly ground pepper

For the Israeli salad:

1 cup chopped tomatoes

1 cup chopped cucumber

½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley

½ tsp. kosher salt

2 Tbsp. good quality extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, more to taste

For the cabbage salad:

½ head thinly sliced red cabbage

½ cup chopped cilantro

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. apple cider or other vinegar

2 Tbsp. good quality extra virgin olive oil

For the tahini dressing:

½ cup tahini

½ cup ice water

3 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 Tbsp. good quality extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, pressed

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. sugar

Chopped parsley, cilantro, or other herbs for garnish

1. Put two sheet pans in the oven, and preheat to 450 ^oF.
2. Make the wheat berries according to package instructions or by combining 3½ cups water, the wheat berries, and ½ tsp. salt in a 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for one hour or until tender. Drain and set aside.
3. Fry the shallots by adding 1 Tbsp. olive oil and sliced shallots to a heavy skillet and heating to medium. Cook until lightly browned and crispy, about a half hour, stirring frequently and moderating the temperature as needed, so they do not burn. Set aside in a small bowl.
4. Prepare the roasted vegetables by cutting them into bite size pieces (butternut squash and cauliflower will take longest to cook), and separately putting them in a bowl and tossing them with olive oil so they are well coated. The vegetables should be shiny, but not dripping. As you finish cutting and preparing a vegetable, put it on one section of a pre-heated sheet pan so that as much of each piece of veggie is touching the metal as possible and there is room between each piece. The best caramelization will occur where the veggies contact the sheet pan. Put the pans on the lowest shelves of the oven and repeat with the other vegetables. Monitor the roasting vegetables closely for browning, and turn them once when one side is well browned. This might take as little as 10 minutes or as much as a half hour, depending on oven temperature variation and how big the vegetables are cut. Rotate the sheet pans as needed to ensure even cooking. Vegetables are done when there are crispy bits on the outside and cooked through. Remove each vegetable to a serving plate as it finishes roasting.
5. While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the Israeli salad. Chop tomatoes, cucumber, and parsley and place in a bowl. Stir in salt, olive oil, and lemon juice. Taste and add more salt or lemon juice as needed.
6. Make the cabbage salad. Thinly slice the cabbage so that it is almost shredded. Add the chopped cilantro, salt, sugar, cider vinegar, and olive oil and toss to combine. Taste and add more salt or vinegar as needed.
7. Make the tahini dressing by whisking together tahini, ice water, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and sugar in a metal bowl. If your tahini has separated, it may take a few minutes of whisking before it gets smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
8. Assemble the bowls by putting a few spoonsful of wheat berries on the bottom. Add roasted veggies and fried shallots. Top with tahini dressing and fresh herbs. Serve Israeli and cabbage salads on the side.

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