Winter Abundance Bowl

I finally got around to making this winter abundance bowl from My New Roots. I had leftover red cabbage from making rainbow salad, so this was perfect. It was especially convenient to make given that most of the ingredients are cooked in the same pot! I only changed the quantities in the dressing, because the yield was too much, it was too liquid for my taste, and the garlic was definitely too strong. But it really had potential, so I’d make it again using the amounts below. This bowl also goes really well with maple tahini dressing, which the Little Prince preferred.

For the bowl
2/3 cup brown rice
1/3 cup green lentils
¼ to ½ tsp. sea salt
1 small head broccoli
1 medium sweet potato
2 cups shredded red cabbage
juice of ½ lemon or lime
drizzle of cold-pressed olive oil

Combine rice and lentils in a medium bowl, cover with water and wash well, rubbing grains and legumes together. Drain and repeat until water is clear. Cover with water again and soak overnight or for up to 8 hours, if possible. Drain and rinse.

In a medium saucepan place the rice and lentils, plus 1½ cups water (if soaked – add 2 cups water if un-soaked), and sea salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook covered until water has been absorbed and rice and lentils are cooked through (about 30-45 minutes total depending on if you soaked the grain or not, but keep the following steps in mind).

While the rice and lentils are cooking, chop the broccoli into florets and the sweet potato into bite-sized cubes (I aimed for about ½ to ¾ inch cubes). About ten minutes before the grains have cooked (check the water level before adding veggies – if it’s dry, add a little more liquid), add the sweet potato. After five minutes, add the broccoli on top of the sweet potato.

While the rice and lentils are cooking, you can also blend together the sauce (see below) and prepare the cabbage by shredding it with a mandoline or sharp knife. Toss with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, a drizzle of olive oil and some salt. Toss to combine.

To assemble the bowl, simply spoon in the cooked rice and lentils with the steamed veggies, add the cabbage on the side and pour sauce over.


For the garlic-ginger pumpkin seed sauce
½ cup/75 g. pumpkin seeds
1 small clove garlic (or more, to taste)
small knob of fresh ginger
1 ½ tsp. maple syrup
1 ½ Tbsp. olive oil
1 ½ tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 ½ Tbsp. lemon juice
¼ to ½ cup water (to taste)
heaping ¼ tsp. fine grain sea salt
cracked black pepper
cayenne pepper or Korean pepper (to taste)

In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast pumpkin seeds, stirring every so often, until they begin to pop. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

In a food processor, pulse to mince garlic and ginger. Add cooled pumpkin seeds and blend on high until sand-textured. Add remaining ingredients (start with ¼ cup water) and blend, scraping down the sides periodically. Add remaining water as needed to suit your desired consistency. Season to taste. Store in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to five days.