This dish reminds me of my eldest son as he and I have been making it for many years, with millions of variations. Feel free to change up the toppings with any of the following: blanched broccoli, roasted cauliflower, roast baby beets and carrots, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, a sprinkling of feta – the options are endless.
Serves: 2
INGREDIENTS
1 orange kumara
⅓ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup lightly toasted walnuts
1 cup picked basil or coriander leaves (a few leaves reserved for garnish)
½ cup mint leaves (a few leaves reserved for garnish)
½ cup parsley leaves
1 clove garlic
½ cup grated parmesan
2–4 eggs, boiled for 5 minutes, cooled and peeled
3 cups pre-cooked brown rice
2 cups baby spinach or watercress leaves
1 avocado, halved and sliced
½ cup caramelised onions (homemade or store-bought is fine)
2 tablespoons roasted chickpeas (optional) to serve
2 tablespoons dukkah to serve
sea salt to season
METHOD
If the kumara is a bit gnarly, peel it, otherwise just give it a good scrub. Slice into 2cm thick rounds and drizzle with one tablespoon of the oil and honey, season with sea salt and roast for 20–25 minutes until soft. Leave to cool slightly.
Put walnuts, herbs, remaining oil, garlic and parmesan in a food processor and blend until smooth. Bring a pot of water to the boil and drop peeled eggs in for 1 minute. Drain.
Microwave rice (or drop into a large pot of boiling water) until well-heated through. Drain rice if necessary and stir through half of the walnut pesto and half of the spinach leaves then spoon on to serving plates.
Top with heated eggs, avocado, kumara, caramelised onion, roasted chickpeas (if using) and remaining spinach. Top with a few blobs of remaining pesto and a sprinkling of dukkah and reserved herbs.
Pantry note: I use brown rice all the time so have 1-cup quantities in sealable bags in my freezer, ready to defrost.
Stuck in the Kitchen
Sarah Tuck is a food writer and photographer based in Auckland. For more recipe ideas and cooking inspiration, visit her beautifully photographed blog, Stuck in the Kitchen. To read a little more about her and find out how Stuck in the Kitchen began, click here to read our story on her.
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127
In Dream Escape, we journey from Japan and Morocco to Italy, India and beyond, sharing recipes inspired by travel, heritage and comfort. We celebrate the champions of the Outstanding Food Producer Awards, explore the stories and recipes of chefs shaped by their cultural roots, and warm up with everything from West African soups and slow-braised lamb to porchetta, butter chicken and beef noodle soup. Alongside destination menus, Scandinavian sweets and cosy pub classics, Chrisanne Terblanche shares her favourite street-side dining spots in Bangkok, while Yvonne Lorkin explores red wine varietals. This issue, we invite you to slow down, turn the pages and escape through food.