I'm kind of the worst when it comes to using fresh herbs.
I absolutely love to use them but about 95% of the time, I forget them when I'm at the grocery store, or if I do have them, I forget to use them. It's not uncommon to find a very sad bunch of once-fragrant cilantro completely wilted and stuck to the side of my crisper drawer. It breaks my heart every time.
I've been making more and more of an effort to use fresh herbs, especially when my CSA sends me a bunch. One day, when I found myself with a bunch of parsley from the CSA and a ton of fresh basil leftover from another recipe, I decided to go a little crazy with the fresh herbs. I even went to the store and bought more- a nice little bunch of fresh mint!
I'd been dying for an opportunity to make my tofu feta again so I decided to go Mediterranean. As my feta was marinating in the fridge, I dreamt up this Mediterranean Bowl to help use up all of my herbs.
A delicious quinoa tabbouleh used up a large portion of my fresh parsley and most of my mint. White beans, cooked in tamari and balsamic vinegar and tossed in fresh basil chiffonade lended some super flavorful protein to the bowl. A quick salad of zucchini, artichoke hearts, and sun-dried tomatoes marinated in white balsamic and red wine vinegars brightened up the dish. A simple tahini dressing (and probably my most favorite dressing that I've ever come up with) packed full of fresh parsley and basil put this bowl over the top.
I've been really into bowls these last few months (as you may have guessed from my Mexican Bowl and my BBQ Bowl) but this bowl really just blew Chris and I away. I wasn't expecting the incredible burst of bright, vibrant flavor in every bite. I wasn't expecting the complete harmony the combination of these ingredients created. Fresh herbs truly take your dish up a notch (or nineteen) and this meal was a testament to that fact. There were leftovers of everything but the beans and the flavors continued to get more and more pronounced every day. I enjoyed the leftovers mixed together in a pita, drizzled with that magnificent tahini herb dressing or just in a bowl as I had originally.
With recipes like this, my refrigerator's crisper drawer will no longer be a graveyard for fresh herbs.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 cup chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup chopped mint
- 3/4 cup chopped tomato
- 3/4 cup diced cucumber
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cups cooked great northern or cannelini beans (or 1 15oz. can, rinsed and drained)
- 1 tablespoon tamari sauce
- 1/4 cup basil chiffonade
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 6 cooked artichoke hearts from a jar, can or frozen, chopped into quarters
- 1/4 red onion, diced small
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/3 cup chopped parsley
- 1/3 cup chopped basil
- 1/2-1 tablespoon coconut nectar (or agave syrup)
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
- salt to taste
- greens of choice
- tofu feta
Instructions
- Prepare the tofu feta at least 2-3 hours before you plan on serving this dish.
- Combine all of the tabbouleh ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Combine all of the veggie salad ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Combine the tahini herb dressing ingredients, except for the dill, in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Add in the dill and pulse a few times until incorporated. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Lightly spray with olive oil. Add the beans and cook for a couple minutes, stirring a few times, until they are heated. Add the tamari and cook until the liquid mostly cooks away, stirring as needed to prevent them from sticking. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook until the liquid has cooked away, stirring as needed to prevent the beans from sticking. Remove from heat and toss with basil chiffonade.
- Add greens to each of the serving bowls (can serve up to about 4). Add the tabbouleh, veggie salad, and beans. Top with the tofu feta and then drizzle with tahini herb dressing. Serve immediately. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Enjoy!
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the Vega Starter Kit Giveaway! There were so many entries and some of you even told me about products I haven't tried yet! The big winner, though, is Emily Adler! Congratulations, Emily!
What are your favorite herbs?
Photography by Chris Miller
Suzanne @ hello, veggy!
I love using fresh herbs; they have such great flavour! My favourites are dill and basil.
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan
I am the exact same way! My poor, lonely herbs stay sitting in the fridge wilting while I forget allll about them! I can't wait to make the feta, thanks Kristy!
Shira
I am loving bowls myself too! I am generally obsessed with fresh herbs but must admit from time to time they end up the same way....good thing is they can be blended in all manner of ways even when wilty - like in this amazing sauce!! Making this one stat Kristy. Looks heavenly!
luminousvegans
This looks sooo good! I can totally relate about the fresh herb thing. The only way I remember to pick them up at the store is to really plan out my meals. But cilantro is one that I usually get because its great for Mexican dishes which we seem to eat at least once a week.
Tami@Nutmeg Notebook
Wow this looks amazing. I too love fresh herbs, with basil and cilantro being at the top of my list!
Katie @ Serenity in the Storm
Wow, this looks amazing. These are some of my favorite flavors in life. Can't wait to try making this. I always have the problem of using some of the fresh herbs in one recipe and then the rest of the bunch liquefies over the next couple of weeks in my fridge. I've started trying to keep herbs growing outside in pots and some of them (rosemary, sage, thyme) will grow through the winter in our temperate climate. Basil, cilantro, parsley and mint in the summer garden. 🙂
sarah@thesweetlife
That looks so good, Kristy! I hear you about fresh herbs. I forget them and when I do buy them, I have such a hard time remembering to use them before they go bad. But they are totally worth it when I manage to get them into my kitchen.
Lauren @ Dash of Soul
Love the sound of that tahini herb dressing! The herbs in my kitchen tend to have a similar sad story...they're so good at hiding in the fridge! I'm bookmarking this one to try.
Lynette
I couldn't agree more on the forgetting to buy the right herbs. Just this evening my impromptu tomato & lentil Dahl needs coriander! Best I get writing my next shopping list for your yummy ideas.
rika@veganmiam
Wow Kristy, the Mediterranean set looks gorgeous and I love tahini-based dressing. And now this is inspiring me to visit the Mediterranean one day! Have a great weekend!
Richa
this is my kind of bowl! love the tofu feta and tahini dressing! my herbs also suffer a similar fate. Most of my herb garden did not survive the move, now i am hoping the herbs will come back and i can use fresh ones from the garden.
Anna {Herbivore Triathletre}
I love all your bowls Kristy! I have to try making the tofu feta, it is one cheese I really miss!
Gabby @ the veggie nook
Oh I am just as bad! Sometimes all it would take too is to whip up an herb-filled dressing but I always seem to forget!
If you are able to overcome this, then maybe there is hope for me too 🙂
This looks absolutely delicious!
Kristen Kelley@the vegan weirdos next door
I'm glad to hear I'm not alone. I, too, murder many a lovely bunch of cilantro more often than not. I absolutely adore the smell and taste of fresh basil. That's my favorite herb. My grandmother's sauce was the best spaghetti sauce in the world and she used to sneak me most of the basil leaves from the sauce 🙂
Heather
I am the same with fresh herbs, that is the primary reason I decided to grow my own, that way I would only pick what I needed when I needed it- no more waste YAY! I am famous for letting smaller veggies like radishes and kholrabi get lost at the bottom of the crisper- I feel a little less guilty when I compost the shriveled up long forgotten veggies.
The Tahini dressing looks so incredible- I have been on a major salad kick lately and still have fresh basil and parsley in the garden, I am totally whipping up a batch of dressing tonight!
gotcakee
I had my first "bowl" this past summer, and was so surprised by how simple, yet delicious it was. I love how fresh this version looks! I'm definitely using this as inspiration, if not making it word for word.
Jamila
For the basil white bean salad the instructions call for balsamic vinegar but the ingredients don't indicate how much? Would it be one tablespoon like the braggs?