Glory Bowl Salad with Tahini Dressing

 Glory bowl salad with brown rice, crispy tofu, carrots, beets, wilted spinach, toasted seeds and a delicious tahini dressing. Vegan and gluten free.

GLORY BOWL SALAD WITH TAHINI DRESSING
(Inspired from Whitewater Cooks)

The dressing can be adjusted as you like, I’ve seen variations which use lemon juice instead of apple cider vinegar – which would add lots of freshness. Use whatever you have one hand – that goes for the salad too, quinoa or any other grain will work just fine.

Quantities below will leave you with extra tofu and dressing. Cook up a large batch of brown rice for easy meals throughout the week. Glory days x

Serves 2.

Ingredients

Tofu

1 block organic firm tofu
3 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

Salad

1 cup cooked short grain brown rice
2 small carrots, grated or ribboned
1 small beet, grated
3 cups baby spinach
A few handfuls of toasted seeds (sesame, sunflower, or pumpkin)
A few handfuls of chopped raw almonds
Mixed sprouts, optional

Dressing

1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
2 gloves garlic
3 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a small bowl whisk together tamari, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar and sesame oil.

Using your hands (over the sink) squeeze as much water out of the tofu as possible. Slice tofu into desired shape and size, large triangles or smaller cubes will do. Place tofu on a cutting board lined with kitchen towel. Cover with a top layer of kitchen towel and use something heavy to weigh the whole thing down, I use the lid of my dutch oven but a plate with a can of tomatoes on top does the same thing. ‘Press’ the tofu for at least 10 minutes, if possible let it sit for 30 minutes. The longer you press the tofu, the better the texture. Slice into cubes and toss in marinate. Let marinate for 30 minutes or longer. Can be prepped in the morning and left in the fridge to marinate.

Place cubed marinated tofu on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake in the oven in crispy, about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Wilting the spinach is an optional step, it is equally delicious if left raw. To wilt the spinach simply heat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet, add spinach and a dash of salt. Stir until just starting to wilt and dark green. I will usually wilt the spinach in the winter, but keep things fresh on warmer days.

Make the dressing – in a blender add the tahini, garlic, vinegar, tamari, yeast flakes and combine until blended. Add the oil in a steady stream and continue blending. Taste, and thin out with water.

Place the cooked rice in the bottom of your favorite big bowl, add the veggies and spinach then top with crispy tofu, almonds and seeds – smother in as much dressing as you like.


Let me in on your kitchen creations – tag your photos #happyheartedkitchen and share the love!

15 Comments

  • Reply
    Anna
    October 20, 2012 at 2:45 pm

    This looks delicious Jodi! I’m maing it this week…

    • Reply
      Jodi Kay
      October 24, 2012 at 12:54 pm

      Oh yay! Let me know if you do, and you should definitely order the Whitewater Cooks cookbook :)

  • Reply
    Courtney Posel
    June 18, 2013 at 1:14 am

    This was delicious jod! I defs recommend adding some lemon juice and zest! xo

    • Reply
      Jodi Kay
      June 18, 2013 at 6:40 am

      Thanks, Courtney! So happy you liked it – totally agree about lemon juice – so fresh! xx

  • Reply
    Anonymous
    September 8, 2014 at 3:12 am

    just tried this tonight… delicious!

  • Reply
    dannwebb
    March 5, 2015 at 2:30 am

    Looks interesting, but in your endeavour to get cool close-up photos, there isn’t a single photo that actually shows what the dish looks like as a whole. It’s not very interesting to see the bits left on the bottom of the grater .. give us a picture of the whole thing!

  • Reply
    The Mistress of Spices
    June 17, 2015 at 2:44 pm

    Can’t wait to try this! What would you sub for the nutritional yeast flakes?

    • Reply
      Jodi Kay
      June 23, 2015 at 1:24 pm

      Hi there! Sorry for the late reply, we are traveling at the moment with limited access to wifi. Unfortunately I don’t think there is a good replacement for nutritional yeast flakes, they have such a unique flavor. I know in France, and back home in Canada, they are easily found at big grocery stores or health food shops. If not so much good stuff is available over the internet now im sure you could order some, a box is rather inexpensive if you really want to give it a try! Hope this helps! x

  • Reply
    dannwebb
    February 15, 2017 at 9:10 pm

    Wow .. you don’t like criticism, do you. My request to have photos of the entire dish, as opposed to the bottom of a grater, was removed. How precious can you get.

    • Reply
      Jodi
      March 25, 2017 at 9:46 am

      HI Dann! I’m not sure what you’re seeing, but I did not delete your comment, it’s still up there! I actually took your advice and updated the photo :) Thanks for that! Jodi

  • Reply
    Kiersten
    April 26, 2017 at 7:34 am

    Made this lunch for my husband and myself for the week and it turned out fabulous! I ended up with a ton of dressing left over which was actually nice to use in other meals throughout the week. As a short cut, because I was pressed for time, I used trader joes shredded carrots, trader joes steamed beets, and I did not wilt the spinach. Thanks so much for this recipe. I will be making it again!

    • Reply
      Jodi
      April 26, 2017 at 11:24 am

      Hi Kiersten! Thank you so much for taking the time to say hi! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, the dressing is my favorite part so it’s always nice to have some hanging around in the fridge. I love those time saving tips, I’m sure other will be happy to read them as well. Thanks again. Jodi x

  • Reply
    Morgan
    May 28, 2017 at 9:00 pm

    Straight up this is the best recipe I’ve made as a meal prep… probably ever. Not kidding, it took literally no time at all and it’s delicious. Thank you for this!

    • Reply
      Jodi
      May 29, 2017 at 7:09 am

      Oh wow thank you, Morgan! I’m so thrilled you made and enjoyed the recipe – it’s definitely an old favorite over here. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know, it has made my day! Jodi x

  • Reply
    Camille DeMarco
    May 16, 2018 at 2:59 pm

    I absolutely love this recipe! I’m making it again tonight!

  • Leave a Reply to Kiersten Cancel Reply