Roots Bowl (At Home!)

One of my favorite places on The Corner at UVa was Roots Natural Kitchen. Similar to other popular bowl-based quick food options, Roots has the perfect blend of flavors and vegetables to make a delicious and (healthyish) meal at any time of day. Miss the days when I would grab this meal and be off to my next class or relax on the Lawn.

Here is my take on recreating a specialty bowl at Roots, The El Jefe. Credit goes to Roots Natural Kitchen for inspiring this beautiful flavor combination. This recipe requires a love of labor to prepare the several different ingredients that go into the dish, but definitely worth the work once you get to taste the product. I have outlined below all the ingredients with instructions on how to prepare each one and then the assembly for a large single serving bowl which is the amount I prefer. The following recipe makes about 5 servings.

What you will need:

• 5-6 stems Kale: Roughly chopped into small pieces
• 1 cup Brown Rice: Cooked till just done — want a chewy feel, but still cooked thoroughly through.
• 1 can Black beans: From a can, drained, washed through
• 1 cup Chickpeas and 1 cup Corn: Can be canned or fresh, tossed in some olive oil and cooked on a cast iron pan for a charred texture
• 1 large Red onion: Finely diced
• 8oz Feta Cheese crumbles
• Pita Chips: Slightly crushed with hands
• Tobasco Red Hot sauce
• 2 Ripe Avocados: Cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 16 oz block Extra Firm Tofu: Pressed, cut into 1 inch cubes, and pan fried (or baked) till golden brown. Evenly coat tofu cubes with the miso paste dressing in a bowl.
  • Miso Paste Dressing: Using a whisk, mix 4 tbsps of Miso with 1-2 tbsps of honey and 2 tbsps of hot water. Add 1 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds. Add more water as necessary to make a slightly runny paste.

Cilantro Lime Dressing:
2-3 cups of fresh cilantro (include the stems)
1/4 cup lime juice
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp brown sugar
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1/4 of a fresh jalapeno (add for an extra kick of flavor)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
Add in the all the ingredients to the food processor except the olive oil and water. Pulse a few times till the ingredients become a thick paste. Drizzle in olive oil while blending and follow with water until the dressing is runny.

Pesto Vinaigrette Dressing
2-3 cups basil leaves
7 cloves garlic
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of mixed nuts (cashews/almonds/walnuts/pine nuts)
salt, to taste
2 tbsp vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 water
Add in the all the ingredients to the food processor except the vinegar, olive oil and water. Pulse a few times till the ingredients become a thick paste. Drizzle in vinegar and olive oil while blending – follow with water until the dressing is runny.

Preparing the bowl:

Start off by preparing the cilantro lime dressing and the pesto vinaigrette. Once those dressings are ready and the rest of the ingredients have been prepared, begin assembling the bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the following ingredients to make one serving at a time. Make sure the bowl is big enough to vigorously toss the ingredients and use a pair of metal tongs to help the mixing process.

• large handful of kale leaves
• 1/2 cup of brown rice
• 1/4 cup of dried black beans
• 1/4 cup charred chickpeas and corn
• 1/4 cup red onion
• 1/4 cup of feta cheese crumbles
• Half an avocado, cut in slices
• 1/3 cup of crushed pita chips
• 1 tbsp of cilantro lime dressing
• 1 tbsp of pesto vinaigrette
• 2 dashes of Tabasco sauce

Using metal tongs, mix and mash the ingredients to bring blend all the flavors of the dressings with the rest of the bowl. Mix until well combined and top with 6-7 pieces of lightly pan-fried tofu in cubes and pickled onions if preferred. Serve fresh while the ingredients are crisp and repeat process for each bowl. Enjoy (while thinking about the beautiful Rotunda)! 🙂