Warming Winter Salad Bowl

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I know that winter salad is not really something we hear often.

Winter usually equals soup and summer equals salad, right? That’s the way it’s always been, and to be honest my willingness to eat a bowl of cold greens on an even colder day is not very high. I want my food to warm me up, thank you very much, so I had to find a way to make my beloved salad bowls into something I could enjoy under the covers while wearing a fluffy and snugly onesie.

This bowl is just super warming, comforting, filling, and absolutely delicious. There is the crunch from the slaw, the tender roasted sweet potatoes, the fluffy rice, and the silky spinach – all drizzled in a creamy vibrant carrot tahini sauce!

Warming Winter Salad Bowl - a delicious mix of brown rice, cinnamon sweet potatoes, garlicky spinach, apple & beet slaw, and a creamy carrot-tahini dressing. Simply heaven! www.sprinkleofgreen.com       Warming Winter Salad Bowl - a delicious mix of brown rice, cinnamon sweet potatoes, garlicky spinach, apple & beet slaw, and a creamy carrot-tahini dressing. Simply heaven! www.sprinkleofgreen.com

I could eat this bowl every day and probably still love it. This winter salad bowl just has so many things going for it!

Cinnamon sweet potatoes? Check. Crunchy apple & beetroot slaw? Check. Creamy dressing? CHECK! It’s so much more than a soup could ever hope to be, and that is why this is my new staple to have on winters. It’s filling, nourishing, and tastes damn delicious.

Warming Winter Salad Bowl - a delicious mix of brown rice, cinnamon sweet potatoes, garlicky spinach, apple & beet slaw, and a creamy carrot-tahini dressing. Simply heaven! www.sprinkleofgreen.com

The secret to this bowl is to have more than one thing going on at once. I know, I know, it sounds like it might be complicated but it really isn’t! Once you have the rice and sweet potatoes cooking, all you have to do is some chopping, mixing, and blitzing.

You could even use leftover rice, or even quinoa and millet, from a previous meal, and I always think it’s a good idea to have some roasted sweet potato in the fridge anyways. It’ll be brought back to life by the crunchy and tangy slaw and the creamy carrot tahini dressing.

Warming Winter Salad Bowl - a delicious mix of brown rice, cinnamon sweet potatoes, garlicky spinach, apple & beet slaw, and a creamy carrot-tahini dressing. Simply heaven! www.sprinkleofgreen.com       Warming Winter Salad Bowl - a delicious mix of brown rice, cinnamon sweet potatoes, garlicky spinach, apple & beet slaw, and a creamy carrot-tahini dressing. Simply heaven! www.sprinkleofgreen.com

Warming Winter Salad Bowl
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes
  • 2 large sweet potatoes
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • Salt & pepper, to taste
  • Drizzle of coconut oil, for cooking
Rice
  • 1½ cups / 300g uncooked brown rice, soaked overnight if possible
  • ½ white onion, finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • Coconut oil, for cooking
Apple and Beetroot Slaw
  • ½ lemon, juiced
  • 1 tbsp roughly chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
  • ⅛ tsp of salt & pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon grated ginger
  • ½ tsp dijon mustard
  • 1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 apple
  • 1 beetroot
Sautéed Garlic Spinach
  • 4 large handfuls of spinach
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • Pinch of salt & pepper
  • Olive or coconut oil, for cooking
Carrot Tahini Dressing
  • 1 carrot, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tahini
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ lemon, juiced
  • 5 tablespoons water
  • ¼ teaspoon grated ginger
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat your oven to 175ºC/345ºF and line a baking tray with baking parchment. Chop sweet potato into bite sized cubes, skin on, and toss with the cinnamon, ginger, cumin, salt, pepper, and coconut oil. Spread on the baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes, turning them once halfway through. They’re done when tender and easily pierced with a fork.
  2. Once you put your sweet potatoes in the oven, make your rice. Heat the coconut oil in a pan and add your chopped onion. Cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. Add your garlic and cook for a further minute, then stir in the rice. When rice starts getting dry in the pan, add 2 cups of water and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover. Cook for approximately 20-30 minutes, checking after 20 and adding more water if necessary. Rice is done when all the water has been absorbed and rice is soft but not mushy.
  3. Make your slaw as your sweet potatoes and rice are cooking. In a bowl whisk together the lemon juice, ginger, salt, coriander (cilantro), and pepper before slowly whisking in the olive oil. Set aside. Slice the beetroot and apples into matchsticks then add to the bowl and toss with the dressing.
  4. To make the tahini dressing, simply blend all the ingredients until smooth, adjusting taste and adding more water, if necessary.
  5. Lastly, for the spinach, heat up the oil in a frying pan and add the garlic, stirring until softened and cooked, about 1 minute. Add your spinach, salt, and pepper, cook for 30 seconds for the spinach to wilt then turn off the heat.
  6. To assemble, fluff up your rice with a fork before adding to a bowl with the sweet potatoes, spinach, and slaw, then drizzle over the carrot-tahini dressing. Enjoy!
Notes
Soak the rice overnight, if possible, by placing in a bowl and covering with filtered water and 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar. Drain and rinse the rice before cooking.
 

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