Sweet Potato and Broccoli Bowl with a Miso-Sesame Sauce

Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.
~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Even when you think everything is ready to go for the wedding, little things keep popping up. Rob needs to buy a belt; maybe I should get my nails done before we leave; we should pick some readings for the ceremony; we each need to write our vows. So while I have been silent on the blog, life has been anything but.

Rob and I want a short and sweet ceremony. We didn’t even discuss readings until I sat down to write my own vows.  I was inspired by some absolutely fabulous quotes. So much so that I wanted them a part of my ceremony. So now we have readings.

I kind of want to tell you all about our choices (I am that excited about them) but I don’t want to ruin the surprise for my guests who also read my blog. So, you will have to wait (sorry for the tease). If you want some vegan wedding porn, this one looked super cute (eco friendly on a farm!).

Otherwise, as we try to eat the remainder of our perishables before we leave, this is a perfect way to chow down. I consider these as almost non-recipes since it is basically roasted vegetables, beans, rice and a sauce. Here I returned to our staples, sweet potatoes, broccoli, chickpeas and brown rice. We love steamed broccoli but since I was roasting the sweet potatoes, in went the broccoli as well. The sauce is a lovely pantry-friendly creation (ignoring the ginger and garlic) with a heavy dose of miso and toasted sesame oil with a tahini base (although certainly not overpowering). Humble or not, this is a great meal to have on hand.

Miso and/or tahini dishes shared here previously:

Buddha Veggie Bowl with Ginger-Miso-Lime Dressing

Braised Tempeh and Green Beans in a Sesame Sauce

Macro Veggie and Tempeh Bowl with Miso Tahini Sauce

Simple Sesame-Miso Soba Noodles with Kale & Red Pepper

Wild Rice and Edamame Salad with a Lemon-Miso Dressing

Yam, Zucchini and Chickpea Salad

I am sharing this with Bookmarked Recipes.

Sweet Potato and Broccoli Bowl with a Miso-Sesame Sauce
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced in 1 cm thick rounds
3 heads of broccoli (ie, one bunch), cut into bite-size pieces
1-2 tbsp melted coconut oil
1/2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning, or to taste

1.5 cm piece fresh ginger, skinned (~1 tbsp if you were to grate it)
1 garlic clove
2 tbsp white miso
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp sweetener of choice (maple syrup, agave, etc)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp water, or more to reach your desired consistency

2 cups cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained if canned (if they are canned, you might want to heat them up slightly)
cooked rice, to serve

1. Begin by making your rice.

2. Preheat oven to 400F.

3. Prepare your vegetables by cutting your sweet potatoes and broccoli. I peeled the broccoli stalks, and thinly sliced them. I kept my vegetables separate on two different baking trays lined with a silpat, but do as you see fit. Drizzle in the oil, sprinkle with the lemon pepper seasoning and toss to coat. I placed each sweet potato round in a single layer and tried to do the same with the broccoli. Bake for 20 minutes, flip each sweet potato and mix the broccoli. Continue to make for an additional 10-20 minutes until it is cooked to your desired doneness, or as Deb put it “until broccoli is lightly charred at edges and sweet potato is fully bronzed and tender”. Do not let the broccoli burn. Set aside to cool.

4. Meanwhile, make your dressing. In a blender, place ginger, garlic, miso, tahini, sweetener, toasted sesame oil, olive oil and 1 tbsp water. Thin with additional water as needed, adding in 1-2 tbsp at a time.

5. Once the rice is done, plate each meal in a bowl: brown rice, chickpeas, broccoli, sweet potatoes and drizzle with dressing.

Serves 4.