Serves 4 || Time: 1 hour
This roasted veggie bowl with chive hummus is the recipe for farmers market season. At some point you are going to come home with a haul of eggplant, bell peppers, red onion, arugula and chives. You just will. And this is what you will do with it.
I would have called it a Mediterranean grain bowl but I always spell Mediterranean wrong. It’s a bowl built on your choice of fluffy grain (I went with couscous here, even though it’s not technically a grain), piled with caramelized roasted vegetables and chickpeas, and finished with the age old vegan trick of hummus as sauce. A bright green chive hummus, in fact, that is sure to become a regular in your hummus arsenal.
This is the kind of grain bowl recipe that teaches you a method more than a recipe. Once you know how to roast a sheet pan of summer vegetables and make a quick hummus, dinner is always in reach.
The Chive Hummus
Chives have a delicate oniony quality that is completely different from raw onion. Gentler, a little grassy, almost sweet. Blended into hummus they turn it a beautiful bright green and give it a freshness that takes you to new hummus heights. This is a hummus bowl worth making for the hummus alone.
The secret to getting it light and fluffy rather than thick and pasty is the reserved chickpea cooking liquid. A few tablespoons stirred in while blending loosens everything up without watering it down. If you’re using canned chickpeas, save the liquid from the can. It works the same way.
Use this chive hummus on sandwiches, as a dip, spooned over roasted vegetables without the grain bowl situation. It’s a good recipe to have.
How to Roast the Vegetables
The key to good roasted vegetables is a hot oven, a single layer, and enough time to actually caramelize. Don’t crowd the pan or they’ll steam instead of roast. 400°F for 30 to 35 minutes gets you tender vegetables with browned edges, which is exactly what you want from roasted veggies.
The chickpeas go in during the last few minutes just to warm through and pick up a little color. This gives you chickpeas two ways in the bowl, warm and slightly crispy in the vegetables, and creamy and bright in the hummus. Everyone needs double chickpeas.
Insane In The Grain
I used couscous here because it’s fast. I know it’s not a grain. It’s essentially just boiling water and waiting five minutes. Or even faster: cover it and microwave for 4 minutes. But this Mediterranean roasted vegetable bowl works with any grain. Farro, quinoa (again, not a grain), bulgur, brown rice, millet. Whatever you have or whatever sounds good. The hummus and the vegetables are doing most of the work anyway, the grain is there to soak up all the fun.
Farmers Market Season Is Upon Us
This is the bowl for when summer produce is at its peak. Eggplant that actually has flavor, bell peppers that are sweet and thick, red onion that caramelizes into onion candy. Or something like that. You could make this with supermarket vegetables in January and it would be fine. But make it in July with farmers market vegetables and you’ll never shut up about it.
This recipe is from I Can Cook Vegan.
If You Like This Roasted Veggie Bowl You Will Probably Like:
Roasted Veggie Bowl With Chive Hummus
Ingredients
For the roasted vegetables:
- 1 red bell pepper sliced into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
- 1 Japanese eggplant or equivalent, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced in half
- 1 medium red onion quartered and thickly sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
For the fresh chive hummus:
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas see headnote
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chopped chives plus more for garnish
For the bowl:
- 4 cups cooked couscous or other grain, cooked according to package directions
- 4 cups loosely packed baby arugula
- A few tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish
Instructions
Roast the veggies:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking pan with parchment paper. Toss the red pepper, eggplant, mushrooms, and onion with the olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste and spread in a single layer. Roast for about 20 minutes, flip, then roast for another 10 to 15 minutes until tender and browned. Toss in the chickpeas during the last few minutes to warm through.
Make the hummus:
- In a blender or food processor, pulse the chickpeas and garlic to get them chopped. Add the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and chives and blend, adding a few tablespoons of the reserved chickpea cooking liquid until the hummus is smooth and pourable.
Assemble:
- Spoon the couscous into each bowl and top with the arugula and roasted veggies. Serve with the hummus spooned over and extra chives or parsley for garnish.
