Life can sometimes be funny, but sometimes it can also be a lot less fun. You have good days and bad days. Everyone sometimes suffers from a bad day, and then you usually don’t feel like cooking. And sometimes I do. Then there is a recipe or something else on the schedule and I deviate completely from that. I can work very well on the basis of a schedule, but I am even better at throwing my schedule away and relying on my gut. And this is how this recipe originated: a faster, delicious and vegan quinoa bowl. And it was even the very first time that I cooked with quinoa.
Ingredients
for 4 bowls
olive oil
100 gr dried soy chunks
300 g sweet potato, prepared in the oven and cut into 3 cm blocks
500 gr quinoa
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 red pepper, cut into pieces
1 red onion, 3/4 in rings and the rest chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
Herbs
1.5 tsp ginger powder
1.5 teaspoons of turmeric
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of yellow mustard seed
1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of cumin
Garnish
a dash of chili oil
coriander, chopped
yogurt or a vegan option
Red onion, chopped
lime juice
cherry tomato, cut in half
Preparation
First soak the soy chunks as indicated on the package. I soaked mine in lukewarm water for 20 minutes and then passed through a sieve and pressed so that the chunks contain less water.
Prepare the quinoa according to the package as well. I first washed mine with lukewarm water, until the water became clear, and then let it drain well. Use two cups of water on one cup of quinoa. I boiled 500 grams of quinoa in a liter of water without a lid, with only occasional stirring. Then I let the quinoa steam for another five minutes with the lid on the pan and the heat off. You still have to stir occasionally, but keep the lid on the pan to keep the quinoa warm.
Heat olive oil and add all the spices (except the salt and pepper) to it. Let the herbs and heat in the oil for about 5 minutes. Do stir every now and then. You should start to smell the herbs after a few minutes. Then add the onion rings and the garlic. Let this fry for a few minutes and then add the soy chunks. Turn the heat to high, add a little more olive oil and shake the pan back and forth. You now really want to fry the soy chunks. That way they get more flavor. Do this for 10 minutes, then add the salt and pepper while stirring well. It is important to keep stirring, but above all to keep tasting. So you can add some turmeric, ginger, pepper or salt if you miss something in the taste of your dish.
Add the bell pepper, the tin of diced tomatoes and the sweet potato and let it simmer for a while over medium heat. Grab a bowl and mix in your quinoa, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Stir this well and serve it in your bowls. Top two large ladles of your mix on top, garnish with yogurt, cilantro, chili oil and cherry tomatoes, and freshly ground pepper!
Voilà, a bowl full of happiness!
The result
Honestly (or deliciously!): I really just followed my stomach when cooking this dish. I have used all kinds of herbs that I felt like and that I hardly ever cook with. I really wanted to eat soy chunks again and the whole family really liked the house! It turned out to be a successful bowl of happiness, certainly worth repeating. And I immediately had a happy mood again.
Do you ever cook without meaning and it still turns out to be a wonderful meal? Then I am curious about your process. Do you dare to share this with me? Did you make this recipe? Let me know, I’m curious what you think of it!
