Butternut Buddha Bowl with Roasted Chickpeas

Method

Soak the chickpeas overnight, then cook them covered for 20 minutes (or until done – feel free to fish one out and try it to check) on a low boil. While the chickpeas are cooking, you can prep the rest of the veg and the sauce.

Once the chickpeas have cooked sufficiently, strain them into a sieve, but collect the aquafaba (cooking water) into another pan or pyrex bowl. The chickpeas should be spread out on a baking tray to dry off.

Use two cups of the aquafaba to cook the quinoa and rice in. Cook the grains just as you would normally cook rice: simmering, covered on low heat, until all the water is absorbed. (You don’t have to cook the grains in aquafaba – you don’t even have to use dried chickpeas – but we honestly think you’ll taste the difference, if you try both.) Once the quinoa/rice mixture has completely cooked, set it aside, covered and off the heat, for later.

Use the top half of the squash; the other half can be kept with the cut side down on a flat saucer in the fridge and used to make a soup later on. Peel away the outer skin of the squash and chop it up into bite-sized cubes. Add these to the chickpeas on the baking tray. You can also chop up 1-2 garlic cloves and add those onto the tray with the chickpeas and squash.

Preheat your oven to 200C. While the oven is preheating, slather the chickpeas, garlic and squash bits in a generous dose of rapeseed or sesame seed oil. Add salt and your seasonings of choice, and then give them a good rub.

Pour some sesame seeds out onto a smaller baking sheet or tray. Once the oven is preheated, both the baking trays can go in. Let them bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until done.

Make your sauce: mix the ingredients for the sauce together in a pyrex measuring cup, if you have one. We recommend using hot water for the sauce, as this helps dissolve the miso paste. Please keep in mind that the quantities of ingredients for the sauce are more guidelines; we usually cook Cajun style at home, adding a little bit of this or that as we go. As long as it tastes good, that’s all that matters.

Wash and chop up your greens as you see fit. If you like garlic as much as we do, you might want to chop up another clove or two, as well. After heating some rapeseed or sesame seed oil in a frying pan, gently sautee the greens. Once the greens are slightly wilted, add in the chopped garlic along with your sauce and let it all simmer gently with the heat on low.

Once your chickpeas and squash bits are cooked (just poke with a fork to check for doneness), you’re ready to put it all together. Start by dishing some of the rice-quinoa mixture into a bowl; then add some of the sauteed greens and sauce; next add some roasted chickpeas, garlic and squash bits; last but not least, sprinkle with a generous helping of toasted sesame seeds. Et voila! Tasty, healthy and filling… enjoy!