Beet + Wild Rice Grain Bowls

It has taken me seven days to put fingers to keyboard on this one, and before that, three weeks to slow down for long enough to take photos. Despite being forced to slow down in 2020, life—the world- still feels very chaotic. This makes it hard to write about something as simple as a grain bowl. Where do you begin when there are so many important things happening in the world?

Yet here, on planet Earth—the ground we all stand on- we must still eat. Food is a symbol of its own: a cultural symbol, a mark of a movement, a taste of history, a connection to the ground. When I think of this recipe, my mind goes to the earth. It boasts deep flavors that remind you of where your food came from (nutty wild rice, sweet and earthy beets, buttery feta cheese), and in that way, this meal is grounding.

I grow a small patch of beets in my garden every year. They are one of the easiest vegetables to grow, resilient and hardy. This dish puts beets, such a humble root, on show. Eat it warm on a rainy evening, or cold for a mid-day work lunch.

Beet + Wild Rice Grain Bowls

Published July 30, 2020 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

4 beets

2 cups cooked wild rice (for serving cold, allow rice to cool first — for serving warm, rice can be freshly cooked or reheated)

1 cup cucumber, sliced

1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles

1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved or roughly chopped

1/4 cup parsley, minced

For vinaigrette:

Juice of 1 lemon

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Generous pinch of salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Directions:

1. Cook beets: Pierce each beet with a knife (this allows steam to escape during cooking). Place beets in a large microwave-safe pyrex with a lid, and add 1 cup of water. Microwave until softened through, about 10-12 minutes. When done, beets will be softened and a fork or knife should easily go through. Allow to beets to cool 5-10 minutes.
2. While beets cool, make the vinaigrette: combine ingredients for vinaigrette in a jar. Secure lid, and shake until well mixed.
3. Dice beets into bite-sized pieces, then assemble bowls: scoop 1/2 cup of rice into each bowl. Divide beets, cucumbers, cheese, walnuts, and olives amongst bowls. Garnish with parsley, and drizzle vinaigrette to taste. Serve hot or cold.

Citrus Butter Sweet Potatoes

Sunshine has been all I crave lately. After a very snowy Thanksgiving week and a few weeks of fighting a cold, I feel like I’ve barely spent anytime outside over the last month. It’s getting to me. Staying home to cook all day is one of my favorite activities—but only if I’ve gotten enough fresh air, too. Otherwise, I just feel stir crazy. Next week, my office closed for the whole week (!!), so I am hoping to flip-flop my outside time issue. Miraculously, it’s suppose to be a sunny week… so sunshine, here I come!

Here is a holiday/winter side dish with a little sunshine built in, in the form of bright citrus juice: Citrus Butter Sweet Potatoes. They are slow roasted with a bit of butter, maple syrup (just a touch!) and orange juice. Each bite is a mix of sweet, salty, starchy and acidic.

Happy holidays!

P.S., If I know anything about you all, it’s that you love sweet potatoes. This roasted sweet potato salad is the most popular recipe on Foraged Dish! (Or is it the goat cheese?)

Citrus Butter Sweet Potatoes

Published December 19, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4-6   |    Active Time: 70 minutes

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Ingredients:

3 medium-sized sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Zest and juice of 1/2 an orange

1-2 generous pinches of salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1-2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. While the oven preheats, place a baking dish (about 9x9 inches) in the oven with the 2 tablespoons of butter in it—this will melt the butter. When butter is melted (just a few minutes) remove from oven and set aside.
2. Wash the sweet potatoes, and then optionally, peel them. I like to roughly peel them, leaving a bit of skin on. Chop sweet potatoes into about 1-inch thick by 2-inch long pieces.
3. Add maple syrup, orange zest, orange juice, and salt to the baking mix and stir everything together. Add sweet potatoes, and use a rubber spatula to mix them in the maple-butter mixture until coated.
4. Cover top of pan with foil, and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove foil from pan and continue to bake for another 30 minutes. Sweet potatoes should be browning on the edges, and extremely soft when done. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving.
5. Season with black pepper to your preferences, and garnish with minced parsley.

Harissa Roasted Cauliflower with Dates & Pine Nuts

This recipe is from the Foraged Dish archives. It’s a favorite this time of year, and the photos were old (and embarrassing! 😛). I made it for dinner recently and took the opportunity to reshoot, and write simpler directions. Recipe is the same!

Cauliflower: under-the-radar fall veggie (squash gets all the glory this time of year), but versatile, well-loved, and absolutely delicious. In this dish, the cauliflower gets tossed in harissa for a touch of heat, and then mixes with rich dates and pine nuts. Lemon zest and parsley brings brightness. A great side dish for a fall dinner party.

Harissa Roasted Cauliflower with Dates & Pine Nuts

Published August 23, 2016 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 active minutes

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Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower

2 tablespoons Harissa paste

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt & Pepper

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup dates, pitted

Small handful parsley, flat leaf

Zest 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon rosemary

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk Harissa paste with olive oil. Cut cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. Place florets in bowl, and toss in Harissa mixture. Spread out on sheet pan, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, until crisp on edges and tender. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in a small skillet over low heat until golden. Watch them closely to avoid burning.
3. Roughly chop dates, and mince parsley and rosemary.
4. When cauliflower is ready, transfer it to a serving bowl. Add additional salt or pepper to taste. Zest half a lemon over the cauliflower.
5. Sprinkle dates, pine nuts, parsley, and rosemary over cauliflower and serve.