Greek Roasted Veggie Bowl

This Greek Roasted Veggie Bowl is a healthy, meatless option, and is easy to make any day of the week. With barley pilaf as a base, this bowl is loaded with roasted tomatoes, eggplant, green beans, and onions. Topped with feta cheese, Kalamata olives, and tzatziki sauce. OPA!

So, I just discovered bowls. You know, rice bowls or sometimes called a Buddha or hippie bowl. I don't know what took me so long to notice them. I'm just late to the party, I guess. They are a complete meal in a bowl, and I think they are easy to make for two on a busy weeknight. What I love about them is that they are made with simple, healthy ingredients, served in a bowl (perfect to eat on the couch while binge-watching your favorite show), and all the veggies roast on a sheet pan. Easy clean up after dinner is the name of the game when you've worked all day. You could also make all of the parts to this bowl in advance. Reheat and enjoy it later! Another plus is that you can create one to fit your tastes. You can't go wrong, even if you're not that into cooking.

Roasting all the vegetables on one sheet pan makes for easy clean up.

I chose these vegetables because they are commonly found in Greek cuisine. All of the flavors go perfectly together. Chopping them makes them easy to eat right out of the bowl. No knife needed.

Putting the pan directly on the bottom of your oven will speed up the roasting process. The bottom of your oven is the hottest. If vegetables are getting too brown, just move up to the bottom rack.

I came up with this idea based on my love for Greek food, and not just gyros, mind you. Some of the tastiest traditional favorites of mine are- Pasticcio, a kind of Greek lasagna, with layers of pasta and ground lamb topped with a bechamel sauce. Moussaka, which is another layered dish, consisting of eggplant, and ground lamb and tomato sauce. This dish is also topped with a bechamel sauce. Then, there are dolmades, which are stuffed grape leaves with an avgolemono sauce (which means egg-lemon sauce) that goes on top. Dolmades can be made with rice and meat or just rice. Avgolemono soup, which is a creamy chicken and rice soup. I love the lemon flavor this soup has.

From the Phoenix Greek Festival I went to this past weekend. For me, the t-shirt should say limoncello!

And then, of course, are all the dips and spreads. Eggplant spread (melitzanosalata), potato garlic spread (skordalia), spicy feta dip (tirokafteri), and taramasalata, a dip made from the salted and cured roe of codfish. Served with a crusty, sesame seed bread, or warm pita is the best way to enjoy these.

This young lady was cranking out saganaki, which is flambéed cheese. The chesse used is either kefalograviera, kafalotyri, halloumi or kasseri. Saganaki means "little frying pan" in Greek.

If you are wondering how I came up with this combination, I did a little research. Unbeknownst to me, barley is a common grain used in Greek cooking. Going to Greek-America restaurants all my life, I have never seen a barley dish on the menu. Maybe that is where the difference lies? I have not been to Greece and had authentic Greek food. Now, that is one of my dream trips!

Raw barley. There are so many dishes you can make with barley. It's not just for soup.

While the barley is cooking, which takes about 45 minutes, the vegetables can roast in the oven, and you can make the tzatziki sauce. In under an hour, you can have everything ready to assemble. Mind you, it is basically 45 minutes of nonactive cooking. What I mean by that is you don't have to tend to everything so closely. So, go catch up on that book you're reading, or do a load of laundry.

The almonds are completely optional. However, going with my Greek theme, almonds are commonly used in Greek cooking. I think they not only add extra nutrition to the dish but also I like the slightly nutty flavor it adds to the barley.

Toasting raw barley, with olive oil, sliced almonds, and minced garlic. Cook the barley in chicken broth for added flavor. Or you can cook in water.

Though this is a vegetarian dish, feel free to add grilled shrimp, grilled chicken, gyros meat, or even lamb meatballs. This would also make a great side dish too. Just layer all the ingredients on a platter for a pretty presentation.

Top the barley pilaf with the roasted veggies, along with homemade tzatziki sauce, crumbled feta chesse, and kalamata olives. This is such a filling dish with all the vegatables and barley.

A yummy bowl of veggies, topped with tzatziki, feta and olives. So good!

Serving the barley pilaf with all the other well-known ingredients, really sounded like a good match. The vegetables are seasoned with some oregano, garlic powder, Kosher salt and fresh, ground black pepper. I love the brininess of the olives and the saltiness of the feta on top of all these yummy veggies.

All of the layers to this Greek veggie bowl can be made in advance. Reheat, assemble, and enjoy! And with one sheet pan to clean up, that is another plus to this tasty dinner.

So, if you are looking for a healthy, meatless dinner idea, I hope you try this Greek Roasted Veggie Bowl. Yasou!

Until next time, friends. XO!

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Greek Roasted Veggie Bowl

Serves 2

Tzatziki Sauce

4 ounces sour cream, or use plain, Greek yogurt

1/4 cup grated English cucumber, put in paper towel and squeeze excess liquid out

1 teaspoon chopped, fresh dill

Kosher salt to taste

Barley Pilaf

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup dried barley

1 1/2 cups chicken broth (or water)

2 (generous, if you'd like) tablespoons sliced almonds (optional)

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Roasted Vegetables

3 Roma tomatoes, quartered, then cut again (about 8 ounces)

1/2 small eggplant, or Japanese eggplant, cubed (about 5 ounces)

4 ounces green beans, trimmed, cut in half

1/2 onion, sliced, cut slices in half (about 4 ounces)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Kosher Salt to taste

Fresh, ground black pepper to taste

Toppings

1/2 cup crumbled, feta cheese, divided

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, divided

To make the tzatziti sauce, combine the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the barley, in a small pot heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add barley, almonds, minced garlic, salt and pepper, and toast barley until lightly brown. Next, add chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a medium simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes or until barley is tender. The barley will be slightly creamy. (If you make this ahead and refrigerate, the barley will be dryer-just fyi.)

For roasted veggies, pre-heat oven to 400°. Lay each vegetable in a row on a sheet pan. Drizzle each row with olive oil, and sprinkle with some oregano, garlic powder, Kosher salt and black pepper. Put sheet pan on the bottom of your oven and roast vegetables for 30 to 40 minutes. If getting too brown, move sheet pan up to the lower rack. Check on vegetables about halfway through cooking and give each row a gentle mix.

Assemble your bowl. Divide barley between two bowls. Next, layer eggplant, tomatoes, green beans, and onions. Put a dollop of tzatziki sauce, and top with crumbled feta and olives.