Ginger Sesame Veggie Bowl

Ingredients:
Sweet Potato – 1 small Kale – 2 Cups, chopped Baby Spinach – 2 Cups Onion – 1 medium Garlic – 2 cloves Bell Pepper – 1 red, orange or yellow Vegetable Broth – ½ Cup (or water) Tempeh 4-6 pieces Tamari – 1Tbs (or soy sauce) | Marinade Ingredients: Tamari – 2Tbs (or soy sauce) Liquid Smoke – ¼ tsp (optional) Maple Syrup – 2 tsp Water – 2 Tbs Dressing Ingredients: Tahini – 1 Tbs Maple Syrup – 1-3 tsp (to taste) Tamari – 1 Tbs (or soy sauce) Ginger – 2-3 tsp fresh grated (to taste) Water – if needed |
Directions:
**If avoiding soy products please omit the tempeh and marinade steps.**
Mix all marinade ingredients together in a container large enough to hold your tempeh. Toss the tempeh in and coat with marinade. Cover and allow it to marinade for 30-60 minutes. This can also be done the night before and left in the fridge.
In a bowl combine all the dressing ingredients and whisk vigorously to emulsify slightly. Start with a small amount of ginger and maple syrup and increase either or both ingredients to your own preferred taste. If your dressing is too thick you can add water teaspoon by teaspoon until your desired consistency is reached. This can also be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Preheat oven to 400°. Slice the sweet potato into ½ inch thick rounds. Lay rounds, evenly spaced in a single layer, on a Silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip each round, lay the marinated tamari on the baking sheet and bake for another 15 minutes. Be sure to flip the tempeh half way through. If the sweet potatoes have not reached your desired doneness feel free to remove the tempeh, flip the sweet potato rounds and bake for another 10 minutes.
While the sweet potatoes are cooking chop the remaining vegetables, except spinach and kale, so they are all roughly the same size, ½ inch squares. The kale can be torn into pieces roughly the size of the spinach. In a pan over medium heat sauté the onion in half of the vegetable stock (or water) until translucent and slightly browned around the edges, about 3-5 minutes. Grate (or press) the two cloves of garlic into the pan and sauté with onions until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add bell pepper, and another splash of vegetable stock (or water) if the pan has dried, and cook until tender crisp, about 3 minutes. Add the last of the broth (or water) and add the kale, toss to incorporate, and cook for 2-3 minutes until the kale has turned bright green and slightly tender. Add the spinach, remove from heat and toss to wilt the spinach.
Distribute the vegetables evenly between two bowls and drizzle dressing over top. Lay 2-3 slices of tempeh across each bowl and place a few baked sweet potato rounds in each bowl.
Recipe by Talor Martens of @KindredAura