Yummy Gorgeous Grains With Tahini Lemon “Cream”

The wonderful thing about this recipe is that it can be made with what you have in the house.

And you don’t need to be so precious about having all the right ingredients. If you are missing one or more of the grains or legumes on the list, forgettaboutit. Just use what you do have. 

What’s important is that you dress the grains while still warm. That’s the number one rule here. So the grains can soak in the flavorful goodness you are adding.

These grains can also be made grain-free! Just use quinoa instead of rice and barley. They make a wonderful base to a macro bowl, so go ahead and top this with your favorite roasted or sauteed veggies. 

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Ingredients: 

For 4 people 

For the Dry Goods: 1 ½ cups made up of the following (in order from most to least)

• Brown basmati rice

• Quinoa

• Lentils

• Barley

• Green split peas

• Other options include: wild rice, red rice, black rice, spelt, kamut, red lentils, pumpkin or sunflower seeds

For the Seasoning/Dressing:

• ¼ - ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1 ½ tsp wheat-free tamari or soy sauce

• 1 ½ tsp Coconut Aminos (*see note)

• Generous ½ teaspoon Braggs Amino Acids (*see note)

• Good sprinkling of sea salt

For the Tahini Lemon Cream:

• ⅓ cup quality tahini  (preferably organic)

• 4-5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from about 2 lemons

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• ⅙ cup olive oil

• Hot water

Optional Toppings:

• Toasted sesame seeds

• Nutritional yeast

• Cubed Avocado

• Sliced Green Onion

• Freshly chopped cilantro, mint, basil or parsley

DIRECTIONS

To Make the Grains:

1. Take out a clear drinking glass and begin to add the different grains, layer by layer, as if you were creating a desert-scape of colors. (An average shorter drinking glass will measure out to be about 1 ½ cups. Don’t worry if it’s not exact. The only important thing is that you use double the amount of water as you do dry goods).

2. The reason I have you put the grains in a glass is so you can see how gorgeous they look raw. 

3. Add the grains to a rice cooker. Add twice the amount of water as grains to the rice cooker. Turn the rice cooker on and go make yourself useful somewhere else or take a catnap. (See Note about not having a rice maker**) 

4. Once done, uncover and let breathe a few minutes.

5. Add olive oil and stir. 

6. Add tamari, Braggs and Coconut Aminos, salt and stir. (See note)

7. Taste and adjust to your liking. You want them a little on the oily, sweet and salty side. 

To Make the Tahini Lemon Cream:

1. Mix tahini, lemon, salt and olive oil in a small bowl. 

2. Add enough hot water until smooth paste forms, about a couple of tablespoons to a ¼ cup. Amounts depend on the type of tahini.

To Assemble the Bowl:

1. Add your Yummy Grains to Individual Serving Bowls, top with Tahini Lemon Cream and add any of the optional toppings of your liking. Be grateful that such good food can be live in your pantry for months on end and is so easy to make!

Notes:

*If you don’t have Bragg’s Amino Acids or Coconut Aminos, just use more Tamari or Soy Sauce. Don’t have tamari or soy sauce? Add more salt. 

**If you don’t have a rice maker, put your grains into a pot fitted with a cover. Add twice the amount of water. Bring to a boil, then bring heat to low and cover until cooked. Check-in on it after 20 minutes or so, and every so often to make sure it doesn’t need a little extra water to finish the cooking. 

**Not gluten-free

***Available at some health food stores or online. If you can’t find them, use more Braggs

****If you do not have a rice cooker follow stovetop instructions for the rice.