These easy Mediterranean veggie bowls are filled with grilled eggplant, zaatar-spiced sweet potato fries, quinoa tabbouleh, and hummus, and are done in under an hour!
I wanted to make a Mediterranean-style buddha bowl that incorporates simple, healthy versions of some of my favorite Arabic dishes. The quinoa tabbouleh is a quick version of traditional tabbouleh, a parsley and cracked wheat salad dressed simply with olive oil and plenty of lemon juice. Eggplant is a favorite vegetable in Middle-Eastern cuisine, giving dishes ranging from vegetable stews to appetizers a delicious smoky-sweetness. Tahini often appears alongside eggplant because it makes the perfect creamy and tangy dressing. No Mediterranean bowl would be complete without hummus, and hummus and fries are one of my favorite snack combinations! I put a twist on traditional fries by baking these sweet potato curly fries with zaatar, my favorite Middle-Eastern spice.
You start off by drizzling the eggplant and sweet potato fries in some olive oil before baking. I chose to make my sweet potatoes into curly fries for fun, but any shape will work!
Meanwhile, you prepare an easy quinoa tabbouleh (tabbouli). I love to make tabbouleh with quinoa because it cooks so quickly and I always have it on hand! It also packs this parsley salad with protein.
I served my bowls drizzled with tahini and with a side of pickled red onions. These bowls are amazing when you stuff them into a pita half. The hummus, tahini, and tabbouleh are the perfect complements to the grilled veggies!
I hope you love these bowls as much as I do! Don't forget to comment below if you try this recipe or pin it for later! And I would love to see your recreations @zenandzaatar!
Recipe
Mediterranean Veggie Bowls with Quinoa Tabbouleh
Ingredients
Grilled Eggplant and Sweet Potatoes
- 2 large eggplants
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 3-4 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 teaspoon zaatar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sumac
Quinoa Tabbouleh
- ½ cup dry quinoa
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups Italian flat leaf parsley leaves
- ¾ cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 small Persian cucumber
- 3 green onions
- ½ cup mint leaves
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Tahini
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon water
- ½ teaspoon salt
For serving
- Hummus of choice
- Red onions optional, I used pickled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F. Slice sweet potatoes into fries or use a spiralizer to make curly fries. Cut eggplant into round slices. Put eggplant slices on a baking sheet greased with olive oil. Brush 1.5-2 tablespoon of olive oil on top of the eggplant slices. Sprinkle with sumac. Put sweet potatoes on a separate baking sheet and drizzle with about 1.5 tablespoon olive oil. Toss with zaatar.
- Sprinkle salt over the eggplant slices and sweet potatoes before baking. Bake the sweet potatoes for 22-27 mins and the eggplant slices for 25-30 mins.
- Meanwhile, prepare the quinoa tabbouleh. Rinse and drain quinoa. Dry toast quinoa in a pot over medium high heat for 1-2 mins. Add 1 cup water, bring to boil, and then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook until tender and most of liquid is absorbed, about 10-15 mins.
- Chop parsley leaves, cucumber, green onions, and mint leaves very finely. Chop cherry tomatoes finely as well, into quarters or eights. Fluff cooked quinoa with a fork and toss with chopped parsley, tomatoes, green onions, cucumber and mint in a bowl. Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss to combine.
- Mix all ingredients for tahini in a bowl. Whisk or stir until smooth.
- Assemble veggie bowls. Place some tabbouleh alongside grilled eggplant and sweet potatoes in a bowl. Serve with red onion if desired. Top bowls with a big dollop of your favorite hummus, and drizzle veggies with tahini. Enjoy!
Notes
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