Middle Eastern-Inspired Buddha bowl with Tabouli, Halloumi and Roast Capsicum Sauce

With a little meal prep this colourful bowl can be assembled and served within minutes. The roasted capsicum sauce is the perfect balance of sweet and salty, adding a kick of flavour and colour to these delicious middle eastern inspired bowls.

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Make the roasted capsicum sauce (store in an airtight container in the fridge)

Ingredients

  • 1 red capsicum (deseeded and cut into quarters)
  • ½ cup walnuts (toasted)
  • 4 Tbsp tahini
  • 2-4 Tbsp water
  • 1-2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp maple syrup
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes


Method
 

  1. Start by preheating the oven to 200 degrees celsius, fan bake.

  2. Add the capsicum to a large baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Pop into the oven and roast until soft and slightly charred, around 15 minutes.

  3. Add the roasted capsicum to a blender along with the remaining capsicum sauce ingredients. Blend until smooth and creamy and a similar consistency to hummus.

 

Cook ¾ cup quinoa, we used tri-coloured (store in an airtight container in the fridge)

 

  • If you would like to add some extra vegetables to the bowl, like roasted eggplant or cauliflower, pop it into the oven while the capsicum is roasting.

  • The seeds/centre of tomatoes and cucumbers have a high water content – to prevent a soggy, water-logged tabouli, we like to remove these seeds.

 

Shortcuts

  • Swap our roasted capsicum sauce for a store brought hummus or tzatziki.

  • Or alternatively you could serve the bowl with roasted sweet capsicum and good drizzle of tahini (we like to use ceres hulled tahini).

Vegetables

  • Add extra roast vegetables to the bowl, eggplant and cauliflower would be delicious.

  • Add finely diced capsicum to the tabouli.

  • Add spring onion to the tabouli.

 

Protein

 

Other

  • We used tri-colour quinoa but white or red would also work well or swap for another grain such as cracked bulgur wheat or freekah.

 

Ingredients

Roasted capsicum sauce

  • 1 red capsicum (deseeded and cut into quarters)
  • ½ cup walnuts (toasted)
  • 4 Tbsp tahini
  • 2-4 Tbsp water
  • 1-2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp maple syrup
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes


Tabouli

  • ¾ cup quinoa (we used tri-coloured)
  • 1 garlic clove (crushed)
  • 1 lemon (juice and zest)
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 punnet cherry tomatoes (diced)
  • 1 mini cucumber (deseeded and finely diced)
  • ½ cup mint (finely chopped)
  • ½ cup parsley (finely chopped)
  • Salt and pepper


Halloumi 

  • 190g halloumi
  • Butter / olive oil
  • 1 head petite cos (finely sliced)
  • ¼ cup olives
  • Pita bread (optional)

 

Method
  1. Start by preheating the oven to 200 degrees celsius, fan bake.

  2. Add the capsicum to a large baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Pop into the oven and roast until soft and slightly charred, around 15 minutes.

  3. Cook the quinoa as per packet instructions. Once cooked, allow to cool before assembling the tabouli.

  4. Add the roasted capsicum to a blender along with the remaining capsicum sauce ingredients. Blend until smooth and creamy and a similar consistency to hummus.

  5. To make the tabouli, start by grabbing a large mixing bowl and add the garlic, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, salt and pepper; mix well to combine. Add the cooled quinoa and remaining tabouli ingredients into the bowl and toss to combine.

  6. To cook the halloumi, add a little butter to a large pan. Once hot, add the halloumi and cook for a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown.

  7. Time to assemble your bowl. Add some tabouli to each bowl, followed by lettuce, olives, pita and halloumi. We like to do this in little sections. Then top with a generous dollop of the roasted capsicum sauce.

 

Variations

Vegetables

  • Add extra roast vegetables to the bowl, eggplant and cauliflower would be delicious.

  • Add finely diced capsicum to the tabouli.

  • Add spring onion to the tabouli.

 

Protein

 

Other

  • We used tri-colour quinoa but white or red would also work well or swap for another grain such as cracked bulgur wheat or freekah.

 

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