I have a feeling that when my children are grown and they reflect back on what their nightly suppers consisted of it will be a bowl full of vegetables, grains, and sauce. Just like this one.  When I sit down to plan our dinners for the week, at some point there will be roasted vegetables, there will be a grain or rice, and there will be a sauce to pour on top of it. But as I’ve mentioned before in earlier posts, it really is an ideal meal, whether you’re vegetarian or not. Besides the nutrition aspect, the bowls have so many endless permutations, depending on what vegetables are in season, which veg you pair with other veg, which sauce concoction you choose. The sauce is the element that really holds everything together, it is meant to match whatever you’re in the mood for whether it’s tangy and a little spicy, or herby and creamy. Click here for Bowl One and Bowl Two.

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Harissa is traditionally a spicy, red, aromatic paste that’s a widely used staple in North African and Middle Eastern cooking. This is a green, more Latin version.DSC_5409

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Once your roasted veg are in the bowl, lay a fried (or poached egg) on top, drizzle with sauce and there’s dinner.

Green Harissa {adapted from my new favorite cookbook, Sara Forte’s Bowl+Spoon}

2 garlic cloves

1 cup flat-leaf parsley

1/2 cup cilantro

1/4 cup mint leaves

1 jalapeño pepper (de-seeded and de-veined for less heat)

Juice of 1 lemon

3/4 teaspoon cumin

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a blender or food processor, combine the garlic, parsley, cilantro, mint, jalapeño, lemon juice, cumin, salt and combine until mostly smooth. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil.