I haven’t made a buddha bowl in what feels like ages and this was just what I needed. Golden coconut coated tofu, roasted kale and lightly pickled carrot with a creamy avocado and peanut sauce or piled on top of quinoa – perfect.

I love making sure I have lots of different textures and flavours when I make a buddha bowl and this one has that in spades. There’s the nutty sweetness of the toasted coconut coating the tofu. This also adds crispness to the bowl. As does the roasted kale that’s cooked so it’s softened with crispy edges. Pretty much my favourite way to eat kale at the moment.

The peanut dressing is so simple it’s almost stupid. Actually all of the processes in this buddha bowl are really simple, which means it’s not so time consuming to make as some others that I’ve posted in the past and all the ingredients are things that you might have in your pantry like chilli flakes, salt and vinegar. If you don’t keep a pouch of miso in your fridge, you should start it’s a great way to add umami flavour to your food and can be used in sauces, marinades and stocks.

Aquafaba might sound like something difficult to find but it’s just the liquid from a can of chickpeas of white beans, You can use the drained beans in brownies, or the chickpeas in a salad. Or just Roast the chickpeas in the oven. Yum!

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa

pinch of salt

1 Tbs miso

1/2 cup aquafaba (water from a can of chickpeas or beans)

1/2 tsp sesame oil

400g organic firm tofu

2/3 cup shredded coconut

6 cups shredded kale

2 tsp chilli flakes

2 tsp olive oil

pinch of salt

1 carrot, grated, spiralised, or peeled into ribbons

1 Tbs rice wine vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1 medium avocado or 2 small

2 tsp black sesame seeds (optional)

1/2 cup spring onion, finely sliced (optional)

1/2 cup coriander leaves (optional)

3 Tbs peanut butter

1/2 cup water

Directions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

Mix the miso paste, sesame oil and aquafaba together until combined. Cut the tofu into bite sized chunks and toss in the miso mix. Set aside t marinate for 20 minutes.

Combine quinoa in a small pot with 3 cups of water and the pinch of salt. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15 minutes. Cover and let stand.

Remove the tofu from the marinade (reserve the marinade) and toss in the shredded coconut, to coat. Place in a single layer on one of the prepared baking trays and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Turning twice during this time.

Combine kale with 1 Tbs of the reserved marinade, the chilli and the olive oil. Massage in. Spread over the remaining tray, doesn’t matter if it’s not in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes.

Combine carrots salt and rice wine vinegar in a bowl and allow to stand for at least 15 minutes, or until everything else is cooked.

Slice avocado into quarters or halves depending on the size you’re using. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on a small plate and dip in one side of the avocado.

Combine the peanut butter and water by whisking vigorously.

To serve: Place quinoa in each bowl followed by carrot, kale, tofu and avocado. Drizzlele over the peanut sauce and scatter over the spring onion and coriander if using. Dig in.

HH. x