This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
Jo says: “A ‘buddha bowl’ is a hearty nutritious dish made from a stack of healthy ingredients including grains, raw and/or cooked veg, protein, nuts, seeds and dressings. Pile high into bowls (resembling the Buddha’s round belly) and you’ve got yourself a super tasty, balanced meal. Here I’ve used some of my favourite ingredients that work well served as a brunch, but by all means play around with the flavours, or use up some leftovers such as cooked rice, roasted veg, pulses and green leaves. The recipe includes making flavoured seeds – once these are roasted they’ll store for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container, so use what’s left over to nibble on throughout the day, sprinkle over salads or roasted veggies, or of course in other Buddha bowls another day.”
Buddha Breakfast Bowl
Ingredients: Serves 4
125g/4½ oz mixed seeds (such as linseed, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower and poppy seed)
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp agave syrup
2 tsp ras-el-hanout (North African spice mix)
extra virgin olive oil
150g/5½ oz quinoa
375ml/13 fl oz/1½ cups vegetable stock
4 eggs
1 large courgette (zucchini), coarsely grated
Finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
Small handful mint leaves, chopped
3 tbsp tahini
4 tbsp natural (plain) yoghurt
2 large ripe avocados, peeled and sliced
4 tsp harissa paste
Flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to Prepare: Time taken 40 minutes
Mix together the seeds, soy sauce, agave syrup, ras-el-hanout and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 15–20 minutes until golden, shaking the tray halfway through. Remove and leave to cool.
To cook the quinoa, heat a medium saucepan over a high heat. Add the quinoa and toast in the pan for about 30 seconds. Shake the pan to avoid it catching. Pour in the stock and allow to boil for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low. Cover with a lid and leave to cook for 10 minutes. After this time, turn off the heat and leave for 5 minutes before taking off the lid and running a fork through the quinoa to separate the grains.
Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the eggs. Return to a simmer and cook for 7 minutes for a firm white and slightly soft yolk. Remove from the pan and when cool enough to handle, peel and cut in half lengthways.
Toss the grated courgette in the lemon zest and juice, with the mint, a glug of olive oil and some salt and pepper.
Mix the tahini and yoghurt together and season with a pinch of salt. Loosen with a splash of water so you have the thickness of double cream.
To serve, spoon the quinoa into bowls and top with the courgette, sliced avocado, eggs, a spoon of the tahini yoghurt, a small spoon of harissa and finish with a good sprinkle of the toasted seeds.
Flexible:
The options are endless here as the whole point of these bowls is to be flexible about the ingredients you combine. For a breakfast or brunch bowl I quite like to add smoked salmon, smoked trout or smoked mackerel – you can buy these ready to flake straight into the bowl.
If you are interested in buying the book, The Flexible Vegetarian by Jo Pratt, click below –