VEGETARIAN BURRITO BOWL WITH HALOUMI

Vegetarian burrito bowl 5  This is going to become a new favourite meal for me. It’s so fresh! It can also be eaten hot or cold thus I consider it a trans-seasonal meal ha. That’s a thing. You can also make lots of little adjustments to suit your tastes. Win!

Vegetarian burrito bowl 7

I feel like I need a disclaimer here that I was rather tired when I wrote this post and it seems to be dripping with sarcasm. I was going to change some sentences to make it less so, but then thought ‘no’. Because sometimes I’m tired and very sarcastic. It was an issue when I taught year 7, because apparently not all 12 year olds get sarcasm. Then again many adults don’t get it either. I’ve also heard it’s a low form of wit. It’s my default (especially when tired) so that probably says terrible things about me. But back to the burrito bowl…

You may look at the recipe and think: too many ingredients, too many things to do. And that’s totally fine. Go make this bruschetta instead. Burrito’s have quite a few components. Thus the bowl has quite a few components. You can leave out whatever you like. This is the combination of things I like. But if I didn’t have say the corn, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Vegetarian burrito bowl 1

I have suggested using dried black beans and soaking overnight. It produces a milder flavour than cooking from scratch on the day and is quicker in terms of cooking time. You could used canned but you’ll find they are mushier.

If being an idiot is your thing then you could skip the dressing that is folded through the rice. You would halve effort and time but lose out massively on flavour. You can make your own cost benefit analysis of this situation. I feel it is worth it to do the extra step. But we’re all different. Some of us are sillier than others (politics across the World has surely taught us that). I haven’t included the directions for cooking rice as they are on the packet usually, I do favour the absorption method though. Unless you have a rice cooker then lucky you!

Vegetarian burrito bowl 4

Feta, shaved manchego or smoked cheddar could also work as a haloumi substitute if you’re not into haloumi. Is that a thing though? Not liking haloumi? I guess if you don’t eat cheese it is. And if you don’t eat cheese my other suggestions are hugely unhelpful. Sorry! If you’re not vego you could totally have it with meat. This it totally delicious with grilled chicken, barbecued skirt steak or some grilled fish. Or prawns!

Speaking of people who don’t like things, I’m assuming if you don’t like coriander/cilantro you’re not reading this recipe. Because a burrito bowl is going to have coriander in it. This one has a lot. No substitutes. Maybe this nourish bowl featuring zero coriander is more your jam? Joking! Maybe try a mix of parsley and mint or something in the rice dressing? This whole paragraph is mostly directed at my sister who I love as much as she hates coriander.

Vegetarian burrito bowl 2

You can use 1 red or 1 green capsicum in this recipe instead of half of each if you don’t want to waste. But you could also make this coconut curry noodle salad using the leftover capsicum if you want all the colours.

Now that all the substitution talk is over let’s cook.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups shredded iceberg or cos lettuce

2 corn tortillas (optional)

200g haloumi sliced into 5mm thick pieces.

Rice

3 cups cooked brown rice (start with 1 cup uncooked)

2 cups coriander (stalks, leaves all of it)

1 small clove garlic (optional)

1 tsp chilli flakes

3 Tbs spring onion

3 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs water

3 Tbs red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

Beans

100g dried black beans, soaked overnight

1 bay leaf

1 cob of corn

1/2 green capsicum, in 1cm dice

1/2 red capsicum, in 1 cm dice

Salsa

2 small tomatoes or 1 large, in 1cm dice

1/3 cup cucumber, in 1 cm dice

1/4 cup finely chopped coriander

1 tsp finely chopped red chilli, seeds and membrane removed if you don’t want it too hot

1 Tbs lime juice

1/4 tsp

Guacamole

1 avocado

2 Tbs finely chopped coriander

1 tsp finely chopped red chilli, seeds and membrane removed if you don’t want it too hot

2 tsp lime juice

salt, to taste

Chipotle Mayo

1/2 cup greek yoghurt

1 Tbs mayonnaise

2 tsp chipotle sauce

1 tsp lime juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius.

Drain and rinse the black beans and place in a pot, cover with water 2 inches above the beans. Add the bay leaf and bring to the boil. Cook for 20-30 minutes or until tender but not mushy. Drain and set aside.

(if you ant the rice hot then put it on to cook at this point and keep it warm in a pot until needed)

Place corn in it’s husk in the oven and cook for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Remove husk and with a sharp knife cut the kernels from the cob, combine with the capsicum and black beans, breaking up the corn as you toss them together. Set aside.

Cut the tortillas into strips brush lightly with olive oil and place on a lined baking tray in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes or until crunchy and golden. Set aside.

Combine salsa ingredients. Stir. set aside.

Mash together all guacamole ingredients. Check seasoning. Set aside.

Combine yoghurt, chipotle sauce, mayonnaise and lime juice. Set aside

Place all ingredients for the rice dressing in a blender or food processor and process until very well combined. Fold through the cooked brown rice (can be cold or warm).

Heat a large pan over medium to high heat. Add haloumi in a single well spaced layer, cook in batches if necessary. Cook for a few minutes, until golden, on either side.

Serve with the rice and lettuce on the bottom topped with the beans, salsa, guac, chipotle mayo, haloumi and tortilla strips.

 

HH. x

Vegetarian burrito bowl 6

 

You may also like

%d bloggers like this: