poke bowl with chicken rice and vegetables

Recipe: Summer Buddha Bowls

Name: Summer Buddha Bowls
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 large chicken breasts; 1 tbsp chilli flakes; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 cups cooked brown rice (or quinoa, couscous, bulgar wheat); 2 cups red cabbage, shredded; 1 cup bean sprouts; 1 cup baby spinach; 1 spring onions, finely chopped; 1 avocado, sliced; 1 red capsicum, sliced; 2 tbsp black sesame seeds; 1 lime, quartered; ½—1 tbsp harissa paste; 1 cup white wine vinegar; 3 tbsp honey; 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Buddha bowls aren’t a new concept, but they only recently entered the mainstream consciousness. These days, you won’t see a social media feed without an artfully arranged variation on the theme. It’s not hard to see why – there’s been a huge shift towards healthy and mindful eating. Choosing to eat unprocessed, seasonal food is no longer an activity exclusively for your hippie aunt.

No one is quite sure how the Buddha bowl got its name, but it’s possibly a reference to a story about the man himself. Each morning Buddha would set out carrying a bowl, and local people would donate any food they could afford to share. The resulting culinary patchwork of probably had a similar appearance to its modern incarnation.

There are no rules – pretty much any combination of vegetables, legumes, and grains can be combined to create a meal rich in colour and texture. Our kitchen appliance showroom consultant (and resident foodie) Brigitte has added chicken breast for an extra protein boost, using NEFF’s meat probe to achieve a perfectly cooked, juicy result. Topped with a sweet, mildly spicy Harissa sauce, even the most die-hard vegetable sceptic will be won over.

RECIPE

Summer Buddha Bowls
Serves 4

2 large chicken breasts
1 tbsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups cooked brown rice (or quinoa, couscous, bulgar wheat)
2 cups red cabbage, shredded
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup baby spinach
1 spring onions, finely chopped
1 avocado, sliced
1 red capsicum, sliced
2 tbsp black sesame seeds
1 lime, quartered

Harrisa dressing:

½—1 tbsp harissa paste
1 cup white wine vinegar
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

PREPARATION

To prepare the chicken breasts, rub them with oil and coat with chilli flakes. Place on a wire rack at level 3 in the oven, with an oven tray underneath for drips.

Plug the meat probe in, positioning the other end inside the thickest part of the chicken. Set the oven to 180°C CIRCO ROAST, and set the probe’s core temperature to 75°C. The oven will automatically switch off once the chicken has finished roasting.

To create your harissa dressing, place all ingredients in a pot. Gently heat and whisk till well combined.

Divide your rice (or other grain) evenly between the four bowls, and arrange the vegetables on top. Slice the chicken and add it to the bowl. Top with black sesame seeds and a lime wedge.

Drizzle sauce evenly over the 4 bowls.