Black Rice Bowl
This satisfying black rice bowl with maple roasted butternut squash, chickpeas, and tangy tahini dressing wins equal points for nutrition and deliciousness.
Calories: 446kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup (180 grams) forbidden rice
- 1 ¾ cups (415 ml) water
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 batch maple-roasted butternut squash
- 1 batch sautéed chickpeas
- 1 batch tahini dressing
- 1 ½ pounds (680 grams) broccoli florets
Instructions
- Combine rice, water and salt in a medium pot.
- Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until tender but still nice and chewy, about 35 minutes. (Check package instructions for timing, since brands may vary.)
- Let rice sit, covered, for 10 minutes to continue steaming a bit and absorb any excess moisture.
- Meanwhile, prepare butternut squash, sautéed chickpeas, and tahini dressing.
- In a medium pot with a tight-fitting lid, bring an inch of well-salted water to a boil. Add broccoli florets, cover tightly, and steam until broccoli is almost as tender as you like. Drain well. (It will continue to soften a bit from the residual heat.)
- To assemble the bowls, spoon some rice, squash, chickpeas, and broccoli into each serving bowl. Drizzle with tahini dressing and serve right away.
Notes
- Black rice is also called forbidden rice. This gorgeous, deep purple whole grain packs a huge nutritional punch and has a wonderful, satisfyingly nutty taste and gently chewy texture. While it's grown in long-, medium-, and short-grain varieties, most of what you'll find commercially available in the U.S. is medium-grain. That's perfect for this recipe.
- Maple-roasted butternut squash is earthy, sweet, and just a touch savory. I love making it with butter, but you can use olive oil instead to keep it vegan.
- You can include chickpeas straight from the can if that's all you've got the time and energy for — no shade. But if you want to level it up a bit while still keeping things nice and easy, make a batch of my sautéed chickpeas instead. They're so good.
- I love the way simple steamed broccoli keeps with the cold-weather vibes while lightening things up a bit. Other good contenders would be miso-roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted broccolini, roasted fennel, or kale salad.
- I originally developed this creamy, lemony, garlicky tahini dressing recipe for my favorite falafel pitas, but it works beautifully to tie together the flavors in this bowl, too.
- You can make each of the elements in advance and store them in separate airtight containers in a nice, cold fridge for a week. I recommend assembling the bowls right before serving (or having diners assemble their own).
Nutrition
Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 18.5g | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 18g