Middle Eastern Style Buddha Bowl: Giant Couscous, Baked Falafel, Hummus, Lentils, Pickled Vegetables and Kalettes

By Meeta K. Wolff Prep

Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • 250g giant couscous, prepared according to packet instructions

  • 1 portion my cauliflower chickpea recipe

  • 1 portion my hummus recipe

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 200g pre-cooked Puy lentils

  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

  • 2 small red onion, finely chopped

  • 1 red chili, finely chopped

  • 200g kalettes

  • 100g feta cheese

For the pickled vegetables

  • Cucumbers, kohlrabi, red peppers, carrots, grated

  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled

  • Couple of sprigs of dill

  • 2 cups vinegar (apple cider or white wine)

  • 1 cup water

  • approx. 200g sugar

  • 2 tablespoons salt

  • 1 tablespoon each of peppercorns, mustard seed, fennel seed, coriander seed

  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Method

  1. First make the pickles as they will need at least one day to infuse. In a small sauce pan, bring the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and spices to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat then allow to cool. I like grating or shredding my veggies but you can easily also cut them all into bite sized pieces if you prefer. Pack two (or three depending on the size) jars tightly with vegetables, garlic cloves, and dill. Ladle the pickle mix into the jars to cover the vegetables. Screw the lids back onto the jars and refrigerate. The pickles are ready to eat as soon as the next day, but will obviously gain flavor over time.

  2. Now begin your prep for the buddha bowl by individually preparing each component separately. You can prepare the baked cauliflower and chickpea falafels and the hummus ahead of time

  3. For the lentils, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan. Add 2 garlic cloves and 1 chopped red onion. Sauté until fragrant and translucent. Add the red chili. Add the lentils. As the lentils are pre-cooked they really just need to heat through and soak up the aromatics. Once ready keep warm and set aside.

  4. For the kalettes reduce the heat to medium-low, pour in the remaining tablespoon olive oil in the pan, add the remaining garlic and onion and quickly sauté the greens. They will become crispy and crunchy, keep an eye on them so that they do not burn. Season both lentils and kalettes according to taste.

  5. Assemble the buddha bowl by layering first the couscous, then place the lentils and kalettes around the quinoa. Dollop some hummus in the middle and pile a few falafels on top. Then scoop a tablespoon of the pickled vegetables and finally crumble the feta over the top.

  6. What you now have is one extremely divine and inviting meal. I prefer this when the quinoa, lentils, kalettes and falafels are still warm. The falafels can be gently re-heated in the oven or the microwave. However, this meal is great too at room temperature.

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