Chickpea grain bowl with lemon tahini

Ingredients

0 of 18 out on the counter

• 2 cups cooked brown rice (from ⅔ cup dry), cooked without salt
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in ¾-inch cubes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ tsp salt, for the sweet potato
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 can (15 oz) no-salt-added chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups chopped kale (about 8 leaves), stems removed
• 2 cups shredded red cabbage
• 2 medium carrots, peeled into ribbons
• ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 4 tbsp tahini
• 4 tbsp lemon juice (about 1½ lemons), plus a wedge to squeeze on the kale
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp salt, for the sauce
• 6 tbsp water, for the sauce

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 425 °F and line a big sheet pan with parchment. Toss the sweet potato with the oil, the first ¼ tsp salt and the pepper. Spread in one layer and roast 25 to 30 minutes, turning once, until the edges brown and a fork slides in.
2. 2While it roasts, stir the red onion and cider vinegar together in a small bowl. Leave it for at least 15 minutes; the onion turns pink and loses its bite.
3. 3Shake the sauce in a jar: tahini, 4 tbsp lemon juice, garlic powder, cumin, the second ¼ tsp salt and 6 tbsp water. It starts thick and turns pourable as you shake. Add another tablespoon of water if it stays stiff; that water is not counted.
4. 4Put the kale in a large bowl with a squeeze of lemon from the wedge. Massage it with your hands for about 1 minute, until it is dark, soft and has shrunk by about half.
5. 5Divide the rice among 4 bowls. Add the chickpeas, kale, cabbage, carrot ribbons, roasted sweet potato and a spoonful of the pickled onion, each in its own corner.
6. 6Sprinkle each bowl with ½ tbsp sesame seeds and drizzle about 3 tbsp of the sauce over the top. Serve at room temperature or warm.
7. 7Keep the parts in separate containers in the fridge for up to 4 days, sauce in a jar. Cool cooked rice and potato within 2 hours, then refrigerate. Reheat rice and potato to 165 °F; the rest is eaten cold.