Squash & Crispy Kale Bowls with Pomegranate and Miso-Ginger Dressing

Ah bowl food, the trend of 2016 which, imo, is GREAT (I mean, if you looked at how many pasta bowls I have with me at uni, you’d see I’m not lying). The typical bowl food format is one I automatically turn to for dinner when I need something a) with lots of veg and b) easy to assemble from whatever I have in the fridge.

Today though, this bowl themed recipe was made in honour of the fabulous & kind Cynthia of Two Red Bowls for her SURPRISE BABY SHOWER….even though we’re celebrating a tad late… so it’s more of a baby CELEBRATION! If you want to see all the magnificent bowl food recipes from this internet baby shower, head to the bottom of this post to find all the links (they all sound seriously delicious). Anyway, congratulations on your lil baby boy bowl, Cynthia!! He’s utterly adorable 🙂

Now back to the food – lets break down this bowl for ya: chewy, nutty brown rice forms the base. Then I had to incorporate squash because I haven’t done a squash recipe this Winter yet and I have like 4 or 5 random squashes that I bought to decorate the windowsill. This one is a crown prince squash, with a beautiful greyish blue skin and dense, sweet flesh. I’m thinking kabocha or, of course, butternut squash would work equally well. Next a crispy crunch in the form of kale chips just cos I couldn’t resist the bags of midnight-purple kale being sold outside our university union. A pop of colour and zingy bite from pomegranate arils, toasty flavours from hazelnuts and a sweet-sour-umami dressing made with white miso and ginger.

This kind of a combo is a staple for me and works really well with quinoa or roasted broccoli too. It’s the kind of recipe you can just remember for those days when you’ve not a clue what to cook!

Squash & Crispy Kale Bowls with Pomegranate and Miso-Ginger Dressing

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Course: Dinner

Ingredients

• 1/2 a medium butternut*/crown prince squash or 1 kabocha squash , (around 500g)
• 2 tbsp olive oil or rapeseed oil
• salt
• 120 g long or short grain brown rice , , rinsed
• 3 or 4 large leaves of curly kale
• handful of pomegranate seeds
• 20 g hazelnuts , , chopped

Dressing:

• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic , , crushed
• 2 tbsp white , (shiro) miso
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp honey or maple syrup
• 2 tsp mirin
• juice of 1/2 a lime or lemon

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).
• Peel the squash and cut into 2 to 3cm wide pieces in the shape of a half moon (see notes if you're using a butternut squash). Place into a baking tray and drizzle with half the oil, flip the pieces over and drizzle the other side with oil. Season with a pinch of salt and roast in the oven for 45 minutes - flipping the squash pieces halfway through their baking time.
• Meanwhile, cook the rice: place the rice into a small pot and cover well with cold water. Season with a pinch of salt and bring to the boil over a high heat. Once boiling, turn the heat down to the lowest heat possible and cover with a lid. Leave to cook for 20 minutes (for long grain brown rice) or 30 minutes (for short grain brown rice). Drain the rice then return it to the pot and cover with the lid again, off the heat. Leave for 5 minutes to absorb the excess water.
• Once the squash has roasted, remove from the baking tray to the two bowls - leave the oven on but turn the heat down to 140 C (290 F). Place the kale onto the baking tray and toss with any oil left on there (if there isn't much oil, just drizzle some more on) until well coated. Season with a sprinkle of salt and bake for 4-6 minutes until just crisp.
• Mix together all the dressing ingredients in a bowl until smooth.
• Assemble your bowls: to the bowls with the squash, spoon in the rice, top with the crispy kale, pomegranate seeds and hazelnuts. Drizzle with the dressing and serve!

Notes

- if using a butternut squash, the bulbous base is better for this recipe visually as you can get those half-moon shapes. However, it doesn't really matter that much so use whichever part you want! If you are using the neck of the squash, just cut that into ~3cm chunks instead.

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it went! Mention @izyhossack or tag #topwithcinnamon!

Bowl recipe links!

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