It’s that time of year when we start to think about versatile recipes that travel well, recipes that are flavour-packed but easy to transport to friends or families houses for those summer bbq’s or dare I say the C word (without sending everyone into a tizz), Christmas. For many, ‘bring a salad’ means dumping a bag of store-bought salad greens into a bowl, chucking in a few cherry tomatoes if you’re lucky and drizzling over a little dressing from a bottle. Look there’s no judgement from me, I’m as human as anyone else and I know there are times when this is all that you can muster as time is not always something we all have up our sleeves. But I’m here to argue that delicious simple flavour-packed salads don’t need to take much of your time to prepare, AND they needn’t be expensive either.
Cooked brown rice (that could be done even up to a day in advance), some quickly pan-charred broccoli, a few herbs and other tasty things I’m sure many have at home already and you have yourselves a very tasty, budget-friendly, substantial and transportable salad.
I’ve been using the Vitamix Ascent Blending Bowl a lot lately as it’s perfect for making small amounts of things that mightn’t contain enough bulk to warrant using the full-size Vitamix container; things like pesto, dressings or curry paste and it’s perfect for making this Green Tahini Sauce. There’s even a storage lid that can be screwed on to the bowl if you have any leftovers. Each bowl holds 225ml and I love that you get the power of a Vitamix, with the flexibility of a smaller bowl. It’s super easy to clean up after too, which is always an added bonus!
Each Vitamix Ascent Series high-performance blender features Variable Speed Control, Pulse, SELF-DETECT™ and Interlock Technologies (meaning you can’t make the MESSY mistake of blending without the lid on, which I’ve done in the past!) and a built in timer. The Vitamix Ascent Series lets you build your own personalised blending system by offering a range of compatible container sizes, either the 225ml Blending Bowl which I’ve used here, or the 600ml Blending Cup we often use for single-serve smoothies. The Ascent also recognises the different containers and automatically adjusts blend settings for their size.
You might also like to check out my other recipes made using the Vitamix Ascent Series high-performance blender:
And be sure to check out my amazing giveaway over on Instagram for your chance to win your very own A3500i Ascent Series blender (in your choice of limited-edition Copper Metal Finish or Brushed Stainless Steel) + Blending Bowls Starter Kit + 600ml Blending Cup!
Charred broccoli + brown rice salad with green tahini sauce
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked brown rice at room temperature
- 1 head broccoli cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 spring onion (scallion) finely sliced
- a small handful mint roughly chopped
- a small handful flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds toasted lightly
- 2 radishes finely sliced
Green tahini sauce
- 1/4 cup hulled tahini
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon roughly torn mint
- fine salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add broccoli pieces and cook, whilst stirring until tender and charred in places, season well with fine salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- Combine sauce ingredients in the Vitamix Blending Bowl and blend on high until bright green and smooth. Season with fine salt, to taste.
- To assemble, place cooked brown rice into a large serving bowl, top with charred broccoli, then scatter with parsley, mint, toasted almonds and sliced radishes. Drizzle with as little or as much Green Tahini Sauce as you like and serve.
2 Responses
Easy to make and delicious. Thank you for this recipe!
Stoked you loved it! X