Name: Middle Eastern Bowl
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 8 cups spinach or other greens; 2 cups brown rice—or any whole grain of your choice: farro, quinoa, couscous, barley, etc.; 4 cups veggies of your choice – try tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, yellow squash, zucchini, etc.; 1/2 cup hummus—we use oil-free or you can make your own; 1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives not packed in oil; 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley or 1 cup tabbouleh; 2 cans fava beans (DO NOT DRAIN); 2 cloves chopped garlic; 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice; 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin

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Middle Eastern Bowls

Middle Eastern Bowl

Have you had a chance to try our Burrito Bowls yet? If so, we hope you love them! If not, check them out. If you’re not in the mood for Mexican but still want a meal you can throw together in minutes, try our new Middle Eastern Bowls.

This idea came to me when we needed something quick for dinner that we knew the kids would like. I needed a change of pace from our now weekly Burrito Bowls and wanted to change things up a bit. We have a Lebanese restaurant near our house that we go to fairly often and since going gluten-free in the fall and being unable to eat pita bread I’ve made up my own kind of middle eastern bowl when we eat there. I figured we could replicate it at home (minus their unbelievably delicious lentil soup—we are still trying to recreate that recipe here at home).

Using the same template idea as we introduced in the Burrito Bowls here is what we add to our Middle Eastern Bowls:

Spinach—any green will do but Middle Eastern seems to lend itself to spinach in my opinion.
Brown rice—or any whole grain of your choice: farro, quinoa, couscous, barley, etc.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, onions—and any other vegetables you choose. We sometimes opt for chopped zucchini and squash lightly sautéed in water with a clove of garlic.
Hummus—we use oil-free or you can make your own.
Kalamata olives—not packed in oil. These olives make this dish by providing a robust and slightly tangy flavor.
Fava beans—we use a canned brand from our local Middle Eastern market. They come both plain and with cumin already mixed in. We used 2 cans of the cumin-infused version heated up on the stove with several cloves of chopped garlic and some lemon juice thrown in. Fava beans are awesome! If you can’t find them or don’t like them, try chickpeas instead.
Top with fresh parsley or tabbouleh (a middle eastern salad of fresh parsley, fresh mint, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and bulgur wheat).

Middle Eastern Bowl

That’s it! Make extras and use the leftovers for lunch the next day.