Grain Bowls with Garlicky Spinach, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and Tahini Drizzle

....and so much more!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, truly. I know this is the teensiest bit cliche to start the year with something so trendily healthy, but it's also delicious so I'm sorry I'm not sorry. I am a thousand percent behind bowls of any kind for meals. Grain bowls, Mexican rice bowls, poke bowls, all of the bowls. I MAINLY like them because it's a lot of healthy stuff piled on a crap-ton of carbs, but that's on me. You don't technically have to use 8 cups of a starch before you get to the veggies, or you can and you know I'm not here to judge.

The flavor combination in this bowl is somewhere in the middle of Italian and Middle Eastern, and let me just tell you how well that works. The sweet potatoes and tomatoes are roasted until caramely and soft, spinach is wilted with anchovy and garlic, and the whole thing is topped with a tahini drizzle, feta, and lemon juice. The flavors are unreal together, and the great thing about bowls like this is what you can customize them to what you have on hand, what you enjoy, etc.

I start these by roasting the veggies since that takes the longest. Then while the veggies are roasting I cook a grain (bulgar in these pictures, but use whatever you have, even rice!), and while THAT is simmering I saute the spinach, which is the fastest thing, then shake up the dressing and gather any raw toppings I'm using. 

Here is sweet potato seasoned with chili powder and salt, and cherry tomatoes with salt, dill, and sugar. YUM. Since I was cooking for two, I just used one baking sheet with 2 pieces of parchment paper: the tomatoes were done a few minutes before the sweet potato chunks and I didn't want them to burn. Roast the sweet potatoes for about 20 minutes, then take them out of the oven and let the sweet potatoes keep going for 10 minutes more or until they are super sugary and soft all the way through. 

Bulgar: cooked to package directions, cooled just slightly and ready for bowl building. I add a few pinches of salt to the cooking water to give it a bit of flavor on its own, and you can also cook your grains in any kind of stock you like. 

Now, on to the spinach. I love love LOVE anchovy flavor and garlic; it's such a great natural salt flavor and doesn't taste fishy at all when it's cooked. Start one anchovy filet or about a teaspoon of anchovy paste in a skillet with some olive oil and garlic. 

Let the anchovy and garlic cook together for 2 minutes or so until the anchovy breaks apart and the garlic is soft, then stir in the spinach. Once I add the spinach I turn the heat OFF and wilt the spinach in the hot pan without adding any more heat. 

When the spinach is wilted I take it out of the skillet so it doesn't overcook; I really like barely-cooked spinach. 

So! Here we go. Roasted veggies, cooked bulgar, sauteed spinach, tahini dressing, sesame seeds, lemon wedges, sliced green onion, feta, and avocado. AGAIN, you can skip a few of these ingredients to simplify your dish, you really only need some roasted heartier veggies, a grain, the greens, and dressing to make the bowls, and then just throw on anything else that you happen to have on hand. 

Build. Bowl. 

The end! 

These are so good and I can't say enough how delicious the garlic, spices, and tahini are together. The avocado adds a great creaminess, and the sharpness from the green onions + crunch from sesame seeds makes the whole thing feel fresh and bright. 

Fresh and bright, like your new year. Get to it!