Heidi Sze's quinoa bowls with roasted sweet potato, black bean and a green tahini sauce
- Prep time
- 20
- Cook time
- 30
- Skill level
- Low
- Serves
- 4
Meals like this are a sure winner in our house.
Not only are they guaranteed to please every family member, as each person will recognise at least one element as something they enjoy (this is key when you have children who are selective eaters), it also creates plenty of leftovers.
This particular version is made using quinoa that has been cooked with sautéed onion and broth. Feel free to swap the quinoa for another grain, such as rice or couscous. Similarly, you can play around with the choice of legume and roasted vegetable, or add something entirely new such as grilled halloumi or prawns, frozen peas, sliced avocado, pickles, sauerkraut or a fried egg.
That is the beauty of these sorts of meals — you pick and choose the various components based on what you have on hand, what is in season and what makes you feel good.
Tips:
- If your broth or stock is quite strong in flavour you may wish to use half broth/half water.
- You can swap the sunflower seeds for pepitas or pine nuts.
- This recipe requires a mini food processor. If you don't have access to one you can try whisking by hand using a large mixing bowl, some elbow grease and very finely chopping the parsley. Alternatively, use your favourite store-bought sauces/dips in place of the green sauce. Pesto, hummus and tzatziki would all work nicely.
- Any leftover green sauce can be stored in the fridge and eaten in various ways, such as a dip for roasted potatoes or in a salad sandwich.
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Ingredients
Method
- 1.Preheat the oven to 180˚C (fan-forced).
- 2.Place the sliced sweet potato on a baking tray, then drizzle some oil and add a pinch of salt. Massage the oil and salt into the sweet potato then roast in the hot oven for 25–30 minutes (flipping the potato pieces halfway through if desired) until golden.
- 3.Over low heat, warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small to medium-sized heavy-based saucepan for which you have a lid. Add the onion and a small pinch of salt and stir. Cook the onion for around 10 minutes — slow and steady over low heat — until soft and sticky. Then add the quinoa and broth and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer with the lid slightly ajar. Allow the quinoa to cook for around 15 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the centre of the quinoa grain/seed is translucent. Add small splashes of water if at any point if the liquid is all absorbed yet the quinoa is not yet cooked. Remove from the heat, place the lid on the pot and leave for 10 minutes. This will help the quinoa to 'fluff up'.
- 4.Place the black beans in a mixing bowl and add a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of salt. Stir then taste, and adjust seasoning as desired.
- 5.To prepare the green sauce place the parsley, oil and lemon juice in a mini food processor and blitz until the parsley is finely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and blitz again until smooth. Taste and adjust the flavour as you wish — more lemon, more salt, etc. You can also thin it out with a little water if you wish (start with a tiny splash then blitz, and add more if you need).
- 6.To serve, place a spoonful of quinoa in a bowl, followed by a spoonful of beans and roast sweet potato. Drizzle the sauce over the top and scatter some toasted seeds. Finish with an extra drizzle of olive oil if desired.