Broccoli and sweet potato rice bowl

The inspiration for this dish came from my coworker, Anne, who e-mailed me the link to Smitten Kitchen's recipe as part of an ongoing group conversation about good ways to use miso paste. Deb at Smitten Kitchen adapted Gwyneth Paltrow's recipe on Goop and I am adapting it still further to reincorporate the idea of serving it over greens and rice using my new favorite rice, Lundberg Farm's Black Japonica.

With a couple bunches of lovely organic broccoli, baby spinach, a mellow white miso, fresh ginger, garlic, and a few other things to round out the dressing all this recipe requires is a bit of chopping. The yams went into the oven first since they needed more roasting time. When it was time to flip them, the broccoli florets followed.

Meanwhile, the rice was cooking. Everything was done at the same time and then it was time to build the bowls. First rice, then some spinach – the heat of the rice and of the roasted vegetables combine to wilt it a little which is nice. Then the miso dressing – no skimping! – and a topping of toasted sesame seeds to add a little, nutty, fragrant crunch.

Miso Broccoli Sweet Potato Rice Bowl adapted from Goop and Smitten Kitchen
Serves 4
 
For the bowl:

1 cup dried rice or another cooking grain of your choice

2 sweet organic potatoes

1 large bunch of organic broccoli

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2-3 cups organic baby spinach or other greens

2 teaspoons sesame seeds (either white or black or both!)
 
For the dressing:

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 small garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons mild, white or yellow miso

2 tablespoons tahini (substitute almond or sunflower butter if you don't have tahini)

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons olive oil
 
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cook the rice according to the directions on the package.
 
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into a 1-inch dice. Rinse the broccoli well and trim the tough ends off the stalks with a sharp knife. Cut the florets into bite-sized pieces then peel the woody parts off the stems and cut them into chunks for roasting.
 
3. Toss the broccoli pieces and sweet potato pieces with a generous helping of olive oil, sea salt, and pepper. Lay the sweet potatoes out on one of the trays in a single layer and do the same with the broccoli on the other tray and set that one aside. Put the sweet potato tray in the oven and roast for 20 minutes – the chunks should be browned on the underside. Then flip the chunks and return to the oven and also put the tray of broccoli in the oven at the same time. Roast both trays for another 10-20 minutes until the broccoli is browned at the edges and the sweet potatoes should be bronzed and tender. If they appear to be cooking unevenly at the 10 minute mark, give them a stir and flip and cook a little longer.
 
4. While the veggies are roasting, make the miso dressing: combine everything in a blender and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides once. Taste and adjust ingredients, if needed. I also ended up adding a little hot water at the end since my dressing was really thick and hard to pour.
 
5. Also while the veggies are roasting, toast the sesame seeds over medium to low heat in a small skillet until fragrant and then remove from the heat and let cool.
 
6. Now it's time to build your bowls! Scoop rice into each bowl then add the baby spinach and toss in the roasted vegetables. Drizzle the dressing over everything and then top with the toasted sesame seeds. Put the dressing out so that people can add more to their own bowl if they'd like.