The following recipe and excerpt for Mediterranean Dinner Bowls are from “The Mediterranean Dish: Simply Dinner” by Suzy Karadsheh, available for purchase on Amazon.
Dinner bowls are a great way to give leftovers a new life. I typically have rice or some other grain already cooked in the fridge to use as the base for my bowl recipes. From there, I look for any leftover vegetables or proteins to top the grain. And if I️ need something more, I’ll mix some salad greens or slice up some vegetables. Here is a flexible guide for making dinner bowls, whether you want to use leftovers or make something from scratch.
Mediterranean Dinner Bowls
Ingredients
Instructions
- Start with the grain. 1 cup of dry grains, such as farro, barley, or bulgur or white rice, will give you 2 to 3 cups cooked grains. Count on about ½ cup of cooked grain per bowl.
- Add protein. Leftover chicken or even meatballs are great here, especially if you don’t have a lot. But if not, the Simple Protein Add-Ons chapter has plenty of ideas. Even on short notice, you can easily thaw some shrimp and cook it in a skillet. But remember, the protein component can easily be plant-based. Open a can of beans or chickpeas, rinse them, and divide them among your dinner bowls. One can of beans can easily be divided among 4 bowls. And hard-boiled eggs can stand in here, too.
- Add vegetables and greens. Vegetables and fresh greens bring brightness and life to a simple grain bowl. If you have leftover roasted vegetables, zucchini, or even broccoli fritters, warm them and add to the bowls. You can also repurpose a leftover salad or simply slice some fresh veggies—tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, green onions, broccoli, carrots.
- Turn up the flavor. Raid your fridge for any Mediterranean favorites, like briny olives and pickles or marinated vegetables to add to your bowls. I especially love pickled onions and Torshi. Crumble some feta on top and sprinkle a couple tablespoons of your favorite chopped herb. Remember, have a flavor party!
- Finish with a sauce or dressing. This is optional, but if you need something to pull your grain bowls together, drizzle on a bit of Greek Ladolemono Sauce, especially if you’ve kept the seasoning minimal. You can also use Spicy Green Goddess Tahini. That said, even a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice make everything taste better.
