Wild Rice Bowls with Mustard Salmon, Roasted Cauliflower and Crispy Chickpeas

It’s like a health spa in your mouth.

You know how I’ve been on a mission to a) eat more bowly type of food, and b) give you more bowly type of recipes? Well I Tom Cruised it because here’s another! This was the first one, in case you bagged it up, tied a block to it and threw it overboard your mental Titanic. Actually, I have quite a bit of BOWL RECIPES on my blog now that I put in a search for it. Holy cow, look at all that!

You need more. We need more. Listen, I’m on it.

I know I say this all the dang time, but I love bowls because of the textuuuuures. It’s all about that layering, man. Color, crunch, flavor. Total party.

We’re going to do something so extra with that salmon in a minute that will blow your mind hole, but for now, just gaze at those ingredients and know the simplicity, okay?

What I always start first is the cauliflower. We’re roasting. For a hot chunk of time. 400 degrees, one hour and 15 minutes. But you’ll get in that and toss it all around so the charring is somewhat even. This is the way I dig my cauli. Roasted to absolute submission, yes ma’am.

So, the chickpeas! In past life moments, I’ve taken the time to roll them out in a kitchen towel, drying them to a degree and pulling off those cloudy micro skins. WELL GUESS WHAT. I didn’t this time. I left those thin little toenails on and never looked back. And honestly, it made.no.difference. These pups crisped up just the same, had the epidermis been yanked.

So, if you want to take the time to peel, take the time to peel. If you don’t, join me in the strike against cloudy skins. I’m making tube tops.

Ahhhhh, the salmon. So this is what you’ll do that will change the very course of your soul fairies. Mix some melted butter with stone ground mustard and brush your salmon with it. The butter-meets-the-mustard are you JOKING, it is ridiculously tasty. Life altering. Heart transforming. Do this or I’ll use all caps for THE REST OF TIME.

Seven minutes under the broiler, guys. This is what delicious insanity looks like.

And then you build, layer, pile, scatter, drizzle and devour. Amen.

Two things: the base is a wild rice blend, but if you want to go straight white rice or brown rice, make your life good. That’s the beauty of a bowl (a bowl beauty?), you can make swaps without anything disastrous happening to your face. Barley, farro, anything grainy in the underlore is pawf.

Another thing (did you think I already forgot?): I made a simple chimichurri to drizzle on top because that pop of acidic flavor right at the end sends my soul spiraling into glee town. But if you have anything on hand, like a tube of pesto or even just a handful of parsley, that’s great, too! Tweak it as you dig.

This is just UNREAL. The flavors bounce around on each other like cartoon sumo wrestlers on a playground. The textures range from crunchy to creamy and toothy to flaky to I’ll never quit you.

Make it this weekend! It’s feel good food, look good food, IS good food. Trust.

I mean come on.

Wild Rice Bowls with Mustard Salmon, Roasted Cauliflower and Crispy Chickpeas

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Ingredients

• 1 cup brown or wild rice blend (you can sub any grain or white rice if you prefer)
• 2 medium heads cauliflower, broken into florets
• 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 4 salmon fillets (5 oz each)
• 2 Tbs. butter (melted)
• 2 Tbs. stone ground mustard
• 1 cup parsley leaves
• 5 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced
• Coarse salt

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place your wild rice or brown rice in a rice cooker, set it forget it. (Or cook it on the stove if that’s what you dig.)
3. On a large rimmed baking sheet, arrange the cauliflower florets in a single layer, and toss with 2 Tbs. oil, plus a good pinch of coarse salt. Slide them into the oven for 30 minutes. We’re not finished roasting yet! But just set a timer for 30 minutes.
4. On another smaller baking sheet, toss the chickpeas with 1 Tbs. oil, the smoked paprika and a small pinch of salt. You want these nice and coated with oil and spice.
5. Now, at the 30 minute roasting mark for the cauliflower, give the pan a light toss or wiggle, then slide the chickpeas into the oven on the top rack, moving the cauliflower down one rack, and roast both for 30 minutes. After this 30, the chickpeas will be dark and crispy. Move them out of the oven. Toss the cauliflower once more, and roast that final 15 minutes IF NEEDED. Yours might look perfect right now. I always go 15 more, but ovens are different. So you’ll know at this point. Once the cauliflower is roasted, move it out to rest.
6. Now flip your oven to broil.
7. Place your salmon (skin down down) on a small baking sheet. Give each one a sprinkle of salt. Mix the mustard and the melted butter together and brush the mix over each salmon fillet. Broil on the second rack down for 7 minutes.
8. In the meantime, place the parsley leaves, one garlic clove, the remaining two Tbs. of oil and white wine vinegar in a small food processor. Season with a pinch of salt and pulse to blend. There’s your drizzle!
9. Now we build. The cooked rice on the bottom, the roasted cauliflower, the salmon, barely flaked, sliced avocado, crispy chickpeas, and the chimichurri drizzle to finish. HEAVEN. Ridiculous flavor, such an abundance of texture and color. It’s the very very very best, I tell you.
10. Serves 4!

7.8.1.2

400

https://bevcooks.com/2020/02/wild-rice-bowls-with-mustard-salmon-roasted-cauliflower-and-crispy-chickpeas/

Showing you this one again in case you already forgot about its glory.