We've seen Asian-inspired bowls all over the internet, but what about an Italian-inspired one? This dish comes together so easy and fast and is a great way to get rid of some food that needs to go in your fridge. This is just one recipe, but it's so flexible and customizable based on what you have on hand and what you're craving. There's quite a few moving parts to this recipe, so make sure that everything is out and prepped before starting. The good thing is that a lot of this (like the carmelized onions, broccolini, and grains) continue to cook in the background while you do other things. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do. Watch the full video tutorial on my Instagram and Youtube pages.
INGREDIENTS:
For the grains(s)
1 cup brown rice, pearled couscus, barley, or farro
1 cup water
1 tsp chicken boulion
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
For onions
1/2 yellow onion chopped
2 tbsp of olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 tsp water
For the broccolini
12 pieces of broccolini
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp oilive oil
For the tomatoes
1 cup washed and dried grape tomatoes
1/4 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Pesto Chicken
3 cups shredded rottisseree chicken
3-5 tbsp pesto of choice
3 tsp water
Toppings
balsamic glaze
goat cheese, parmesean cheese, asiago cheese, or burratta cheese
Put foil-lined sheet pan in oven. Preheat oven to 420 degrees F.
Grains. Add grains in instapot with water, chick bouilon, butter, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Cook on high for 20 minutes on high on rice setting.
Broccolini. Add broccolini, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, salt, and olive oil to a bowl and mix well to combine. When oven has reached temperature, remove pan from oven. Add broccolini to hot pan (you should hear it sizzle). Cook for 15 minutes.
Carmelized Onions. Add onions to a medium heat pan with olive oil and salt. After 5 minutes, add water and reduce heat to medium low. Stir occasionally until lightly carmelized.
Tomatoes. Cut tomatoes in half and mix with salt, pepper, olive oil.
Pesto Chicken. Add rottisseriee chicken and water to a microwave safe bowl. Cover with a microwave safe lid and microwave for 60 seconds or until heated through. Add pesto to chicken and mix to incorporate.
Assembly and toppings. To assemble, add a little bit of each element to individual serving bowls or meal prep containers. Drizzle with balsamic glaze, and add cheese of choice to top.
Makes 4 bowls/servings. 30-45 minutes.
Tips:
Recipe time can be cut in half by using left over grains. People often like to meal prep their rice! Feel free to use a combination of grains in your dish. My favorite combination is equal parts farro and brown rice.
If you have a nut allergy like me, I reccomend using Classico brand pesto as it is nut free. In fact, it's the only nut free pesto I've been able to find in a grocery store! It tastes great.
When making the grains in the instapot, pay attention to if your butter is salted or not. If it is salted, then omit the 1/4 tsp salt. This will keep the recipe from being too salty as there is also going to be salt in the chicken boulion.
To make things a little easier in the kitchen, you may try doing this recipe with two boxes of Whole Foods boxed couscous or two packages of microwave rice, like Seeds of Change.
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