Harvest Bowl

You know when you go to the farmers market, and the whole place is absolutely bursting with colorful fruits and vegetables? Even the most rigid meat-eater cannot fail to be inspired by the range of produce on display at harvest time. What better thing to do with your fresh groceries than to add on some healthy grains and pulses, and turn them into a Harvest Bowl – packed full of fall goodness.

What Is a Harvest Bowl?

A harvest bowl is simply a dish that is designed to use up the best of the harvest, when the produce is at its very freshest and best. Although there are fruits and vegetables that are harvested throughout the year, when people refer to the harvest, they are usually talking about the harvest of late summer and fall, around September. Those are the items I’m using here, picked at its peak. Some of them – apples and figs – even come from my own garden for this recipe! But all the ingredients here should be widely available at farmers markets at this time of year.

What Goes in a Harvest Bowl?

Because we’re talking about seasonal, fresh ingredients, it’s best to use whatever looks good at the market. Far better to use something fresh that’s not on the list than a specified ingredient that’s past its best! For this bowl, I used the classic fall ingredients of apples, figs, corn, pumpkin seeds, spinach, sweet potatoes, and red peppers. Garlic and onions, of course, are harvested year round.

But honestly, in September, you’re spoiled for choice! I could equally well have picked pears, grapes, or plums as my fruit. Or used butternut squash, the last of the tomatoes, zucchini, kale, carrots or beets. There is a plethora of options open to you.

Roasting the Vegetables

For the vegetables that need to be cooked, simply chop them into chunks and transfer to a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and if you want, you could add some herbs and spices at this point as well. I also put in the chickpeas, because I love crunchy roasted chickpeas! The exact roasting time will depend on what vegetables you choose. These took about half an hour to become tender and caramelised. While the vegetables were roasting, I also took the opportunity to cook some quinoa to bulk the dish out a little further with a healthy, gluten-free whole grain.

Softening the Fruit

I didn’t want to cook the fruit, but nor did I want to just chop it up and serve it completely raw, like a salad. This way, you get the best of both worlds. I added the apples and figs to a small pan, and warmed them through, ever so slightly. Then I added the corn and spinach, and cooked just until the spinach had wilted. This yielded softened fruit, but not cooked through, giving this dish a pleasant vibe, somewhere in between a crunchy salad and a soft stew.

Assembling the Harvest Bowl

After that, it was simply a matter of mixing the roasted vegetables with the softened fruit and cooked quinoa. I had thought I would need to make a salad dressing, but actually it was unnecessary. The apples, figs, and red peppers made the bowl juicy enough that a dressing wasn’t required.

And More…

Looking for more healthy fall recipes? Try one of these:

• Chicken Cauliflower Casserole with Butternut Squash
• Creamy Celery Root Soup with Mushrooms
• Broccolini Pasta with Arugula Pesto
• Gorgonzola and Pear Risotto with Shrimp
• Creamy Romanesco Pasta

Conclusion

Tempted yet? Get yourself down to the farmers market and I promise you will find inspiration. At this time of year, there is so much to choose from to make your very own Harvest Bowl. From pumpkins to pears and peppers, and from corn to quinoa and carrots, there’s no shortage of healthy fruit and vegetables to build your dinner from. What are you going to put in yours?