A gluten-free, green bowl of goodness.
This healthy quinoa bowl recipe, full of fresh flavours and complementary textures, won’t leave you disappointed — or hungry!
For me, this vegan quinoa bowl recipe is the perfect dish that is both super healthy and yet also rather indulgent at the same time. I think it’s something to do with the sophistication of making your own pea purée — something I always associate with my brother’s more refined culinary skills — but maybe that’s just me?! Either way, it’s still a really easy dish that takes clean eating recipes to another level.
I came across the original recipe, ‘Nutty Pea & Quinoa Bowl’, on Deliciously Ella‘s food blog and immediately wanted to test it out on The Hungry Hungry Husband. Unfortunately this now appears to have been taken down, so it’s a good job you can find a version of the recipe here instead! Admittedly, his initial response was “Looks like it could do with a bit of chorizo chopped up into it!”, but he did try it nonetheless. Unfortunately, he wasn’t 100% won over, still balking at its lack of meat… Ah well, I can’t win every battle! In my opinion, though, those tamari-seared almonds bring the unmistakable umami flavour hit you get from meat, which I’m counting as a win for the vegan, green quinoa bowl regardless!
Click here for the full recipe.
Green Quinoa Bowl
Ingredients
- 120 g quinoa
- 100 g kale roughly chopped
- 2 courgettes diced
- 300 g frozen peas
- 2 garlic cloves crushed or finely chopped
- ½ lime juice of
- 75 g almonds skins on
- ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce if you’re not gluten-free
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- drizzle olive oil
- salt & pepper for seasoning
Instructions
Cook the quinoa & peas:
- Boil a kettle and then add the quinoa & double that much boiling water to a saucepan (i.e. a 1:2 ratio of quinoa:water)
- Pour boiling water from the kettle over the frozen peas to defrost them
- Bring the quinoa to the boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for 12–15 mins; when it’s done, drain the water and set aside
Toast the almonds:
- Put a large frying pan on a high heat and, once hot, add almonds and ½ tbsp tamari/soy sauce
- Keep moving them around the pan, letting them catch a little and get darker
- After only a few minutes, they should have absorbed all the liquid and start to smell really good — take them off the heat and set aside
Cook the greens:
- Using the almond pan on a medium heat (no need to wash), add 1 tbsp sesame oil, garlic and chilli flakes
- Once it’s bubbling, add the kale & courgette and sauté for 5–10 minutes until everything is soft and the kale has reduced down then remove from the heat
Make the pea purée:
- Blend 200g of the defrosted peas in a blender/food processor with the lime juice, 1 tbsp sesame oil and salt & pepper until smooth and then transfer to an air-tight container in the fridge until needed
Finish the dish:
- Mix the cooked quinoa with the greens mixture, remaining 100g peas, ½ tbsp tamari/soy sauce, a drizzle of olive oil and salt & pepper, and then transfer to an airtight container in the fridge
In the morning:
- Dish a portion of the quinoa mix into your chosen lunch box, add a good dollop of pea purée and scatter over a handful of tamari almonds
