Summer vegetables tossed in spices, sesame oil, tamari and chocolate balsamic, then roasted and combined with cooked grains and pulses. These spiced roasted summer vegetables with a pack of quick cook millet, peas and lentils make for a speedy meal. It’s ideal picnic and lunch box fare too.
We’ve been blessed with a good summer this year and my how we needed it after seven months of solid rain. Along with the good weather comes the picnic season. Eating outside with simple food that hasn’t meant hours spent in the kitchen is what many of us are after – I know I am.
Clearspring
In a timely fashion, Clearspring has come up with a range of quick cook grains and pulses to enable meals to be prepared quickly and easily. All of them are organic and certified by the Soil Association, which, as many of you know, is the certifying body I trust the most. Clearspring kindly sent me the range to try out along with a bottle of tamari and a bottle of flax seed oil.
Tamari
Tamari is no stranger to this household. It brings out the flavour of whatever you are cooking and the umami boost it gives turns an ordinary meal into something delicious. Unlike shoyu or other soy sauces, it’s wheat free, so suitable for those with a gluten intolerance.
Flax Seed Oil
The flax oil is also organic and cold pressed. It comes as a blend consisting of 78% flax along with walnut, sunflower, olive and pumpkin oils. I’ve long heard of the wonders of this oil, but have not tried it until now. As some of you probably know, it contains various omega fatty acids. Collective wisdom has it that these help maintain a healthy heart and reduce blood pressure.
The oil has a robust flavour that takes a bit of getting used to. But the taste is ameliorated if you mix it up with walnut or other oils. In any case, it gave a good account of itself in a morning chocolate smoothie. Recipe to follow in another post. And I can see it working well as a salad dressing too. In fact it did work as a dressing in this halloumi rice bowl.
Quick Cook Grains
Slow food is all very well, but sometimes, life being as it is, fast food is welcome. All of this range fits the bill on that score, cooking as they do, in only ten minutes. The nice people at Clearspring have pre-cooked them for us – very handy. So far, I have used the 5 Grains Quick Cook to accompany another version of fasulye. This contains emmer wheat, barley, long grain brown rice, kamut Khorasan wheat and wholegrain oats. It was slightly chewy, but really rather nice we thought.
Spiced Roasted Summer Vegetable Salad
So, what about this picnic I mentioned earlier? Well, I decided to liberate the Quick Cook Millet, Peas and Lentils to accompany some roasted vegetables grown on our plot. This seemed like a nice way of getting a balanced nutritious meal with complete protein, carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins and minerals.
Talking of healthy balanced ingredients, no meal is complete without its quota of chocolate. My trusty bottle of spiced chocolate balsamic springs into action in moments such as this. I tossed the vegetables in it along with some sesame oil, tamari and Steenbergs hawaij spice mix. You can, of course, use your favourite spice mix instead. And feel free to use plain balsamic if you prefer. I then roasted them and finely mixed in the cooked grains and pulses.
Packed into individual containers, they were transported to the site of the picnic and consumed with gusto. CT made appreciative noises and although he’s not keen on being interviewed whilst eating, he described it tersely but sincerely as delicious.
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make my spiced roasted summer vegetables, with or without the chocolate balsamic, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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Roast Summer Veg. PIN IT.
Spiced Roasted Summer Vegetables – The Recipe
Spiced Roasted Summer Vegetables with Millet, Peas and Lentils
Ingredients
- 6 carrots scrubbed & cut into 4 cm batons
- 2 handful French beans trimmed & cut into 4 cm pieces
- 2 courgettes (zucchini) washed & cut into 4 cm batons
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 red hot chilli finely chopped
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp chocolate balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp tamari (affiliate link)
- 1 tsp hawaij spice mix or Middle Eastern spice mix of your choice
- 10 chive leaves
- 250 g Clearspring Quick Cook Millet, Peas & Lentils
Instructions
- Toss the vegetables, garlic and chilli in the oil, balsamic, tamari and spice, then roast in the top of the oven for 15-20 minutes at 200℃ (400℉, Gas 6) until done.
- Cover the grains with about double the volume of water and bring to the boil. Simmer for ten minutes and leave the lid on whilst waiting for the veg.
- Combine the two. Allow to cool, divide into four portable containers and snip some chives over the top. Or eat immediately whilst warm.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
This month’s Vegetable Palette is all about the colours yellow and orange. As carrots are the main vegetable used in these spiced roasted summer vegetables, I’m sending them off to Shaheen over at Allotment 2 Kitchen.
Vanesther over at Bangers & Mash has given us free rain to use what spice we like for The Spice Trail as long as the finished dish is suitable for Beach & BBQ. Well this roasted vegetable salad is suitable for both.
If you’re fast and your carrots aren’t too dirty, you can just about make this in 30 minutes, so I’m also sending this off to Sarah at Maison Cupcake for Speedy Suppers. Happily, the theme is picnics.
The addition of chives means I can send this picnic vegetable grain salad off to Karen of Lavender and Lovage for her Cooking with Herbs event.
Katie Bryson says
What a lovely healthy side dish perfect for out and about eating! Thanks for hooking up with Speedy Suppers for August, hope you can stop by in September too 🙂
Choclette says
Thanks Katie 🙂
Richard says
Loving all the different colours. I’ll be sure to check out your chocolate balsamic vinegar recipe, can’t wait to try new things.
Choclette says
Thanks Richard. The chocolate balsamic is a great standby.
Shaheen says
I am looking forward to making your chocolate balsamic vinegar. Thank you for participating in #VegetablePalette . I do hope your well. I don’t often comment much now, but I do come by and check out your recipes when I can.
Choclette says
The chocolate balsamic is a really good store cupboard standby – well worth having. I understand the time factor involved in commenting – likewise I don’t do it nearly as much as I’d like to.
Christian Halfmann says
Hm … I guess I have some millet somewhere around here. So maybe it’s a good opportunity to use it together with the roasted veggies I planned to do at some point during the next few days. Thanks for the idea. Roasted vegetables are always lovely and so does sound your version, too.
Choclette says
Thanks Chris – hope you enjoy your millet and roasted veg 🙂
bangers-and-mash.com says
Gorgeous recipe, Choclette – just perfect for the summer months when you don’t want to spend hours slaving in the kitchen. And I love the sound of the chocolate balsamic vinegar too – just got to give that a whirl! Thanks so much for linking up with this month’s Spice Trail challenge. 🙂
Choclette says
Thanks Vanesther, it was very tasty. the chocolate balsamic is a great store cupboard standby.
Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry says
I really like clearspring quick cook grains – and this is a great recipe to go with those.
Choclette says
Yes, we’ve been using them up rather fast Bintu!
Karen S Booth says
I DO love millet and especially in salads too – it’s very popular in France! I would have loved to have tried these quick cook grains as I am a big lover of all things grainy! 🙂 Karen
Choclette says
Yes it’s interesting why millet is no longer popular over here Karen – it certainly used to be.
Sandra Shaffer says
Nice quality quick grains are great for busy week nights! Such a delicious looking meal. It looks filling too! Really curious to try that chocolate balsamic vinegar!
Choclette says
Thanks Sandra. I use the vinegar for all sorts of things now I have it in the cupboard. it’s a great addition.
Janice Pattie says
Those sound ideal! You are right, sometimes life is just too fast.
Choclette says
And that’s where your slow cooker challenge comes in Jance 😉
Deena Kakaya says
your blog posts are always full of surprises for me and I really enjoy that. This time I realize that I need to get hold of some chocolate balsamic vinegar, which I have never tried. I also really like your use of millet. lovely lovely x
Choclette says
Thanks Deena, but you don’t need to get hold of some chocolate balsamic, you just need to make some. Recipe is on my blog with a link to it in the above post. You won’t regret it!
Angie Schneider says
Your millet salad with summer roasted veggies looks wonderful.
Choclette says
Thanks Angie – salad is pushing it really as the only raw ingredient is chives. But if it’s eaten cold, it count’s as a salad in my book 😉
Elizabeth says
I’m loving these Clearspring quick cook grains. You’re right, slow can be fine, but in this busy world sometimes quick is needed! Your salad looks lovely 🙂
Choclette says
Thanks Elizabeth. I’ve been quite impressed by them too – “convenience food” is not normally my thing.