Everything about this salad is down to mise en place, which basically means the preparation of ingredients before assembling. So have your quinoa cooked and cooled, your potatoes and peppers roasted and your egg boiled, this will make for the arranging of it to be stress free and fun. Plating of this bowl looks complicated but is utterly easy, please don’t let it strike terror into your heart as it’s done to more than one of our chefs over time – one I especially remember could never get the hang of it, and dreaded the very name being read out from the ticket machine! Follow the clock face as I describe and it will look picture perfect.
Buddha Bowl
Course: Main, brunchDifficulty: Medium2
servingsIngredients
A small amount of mixed leaf – a mixture of colourful leaves and spinach is perfect
1 avocado peeled and cut in half, then sliced as the picture
6 new boiled potatoes, cut into halves
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
2 free range eggs hard boiled
2 cooked beetroot diced into small cubes
1 pouch of microwaveable quinoa – you could swap this out for a flavoured rice or couscous if you prefer
Salad dressing of your choice – we use a balsamic vinaigrette
1 small tin of sweetcorn drained
1 small tin of mixed beans drained and rinsed – chickpeas and kidney beans are our favourites
A handful of nuts and seeds for topping – we use a mixture of pecans, pumpkin, sesame and poppy
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 220oC/425oF.
- Pour a little vegetable oil into a roasting tin and heat until starting to smoke, carefully add to the tin your boiled cut potatoes, make sure to give them a good grind of rock salt. Roast them for 20 mins, then add the cut peppers for another ten minutes. They should be starting to blister, but still with heaps of colour.
- Whilst these are roasting, follow the instructions on the pack of your chosen grain and allow to cool. When cool enough, season to taste with salt and pepper, a little flavoured oil like garlic or chilli will make it come to life
- Now the fun! Imagine your chosen round bowl is a clock, I promise I haven’t lost my mind. . . In the centre of one bowl arrange some of the leaves heaping them slightly to give a little height. Season them with a little bit of your chosen dressing.
- Next, picturing your clock, put a little mound of your chosen grain at 12 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock. Next we’re going to fill those gaps inbetween with your mixed beans.
- Grab half the amount of potatoes and put a little mound of them at 7 o’clock, and again a little mound of half the beetroot opposite at 1 o’clock. Give everything a little drizzle again with dressing, to make sure it’s flavoured throughout.
- Next, carefully lay half of the sliced avocado at about 10’ o’clock, and pop your halved boiled egg to the side of it. Dot your roasted pepper wherever you think needs a pop of colour, and liberally sprinkle the nuts and seeds where you fancy. There you have it, a bowl fit for a buddha that will be the envy of instagram!
Notes
- A handful of nuts and seeds for topping – we use a mixture of pecans, pumpkin, sesame and poppy
