I love my friends and my family and my dude, but sometimes it’s really nice to have no one talk to me for a few hours, you know? It’s nice to just be in silence with some beer and paint my nails.
Non sucky dinners for one are good examples on how to date yourself. Yes, yourself. Date nights with yourself. Do you have them? You totally should, they’re the best. For me they usually involve a pair of pjs, an episode or two (or three) of Nashville (currently obsessed), cold cereal, sometimes takeout, but more recently? This bowl.
I’ve posted about Dinner for One before (here and here) and can’t really should do more. I love ’em.
This bowl is inspired by a dish I get at my local vegan restaurant. They call it the Brazilian bowl but there’s really nothing Brazilian about it so I renamed it. It’s a little bit less inaccurate now.
My favorite part is the brown rice made like Mexican rice. It’s flavorful and tomato-ey and oh just so awesome.
There’s sweet plantains that work lovely with the tart, wilted Swiss chard.
The warm tomatillo salsa adds another sort of big step to this recipe so if you’re in the mood for something that’s under 20 minutes, then you can just trade it out for another salsa that’s living in your fridge. The ugly (but delicious) scoop of black beans is offset by drop dead gorgeous slices of watermelon radishes. #balance
What’s your “date for one” routine? Do you have one? Do you dream of having one?
Ingredients
Warm Tomatillo Salsa:
- 3 to matillos husks removed and tops trimmed
- 1/4 yellow onion diced
- 1 lime
- 1/2 serrano pepper membrane and seeds removed
- Handful cilantro
- Pinch of salt
Spanish Brown Rice:
- Olive oil
- 1/4 yellow onion diced
- 1/2 garlic clove minced
- 1/4 cup brown rice
- 3/4 vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- Pinch ground cumin
- Pinch salt
Rest of the bowl:
- 1/2 brown plantain sliced into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- Salt
- Two leaves of swiss chard stems trimmed and discarded
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- Scoop of black beans warmed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a cast iron skillet. Place the tomatillos trimmed side down. Roast for 10-15 minutes, until slightly sizzling and lightly golden brown. Transfer to the jar of a food processor, along with yellow onion, juice from 1 lime, serrano pepper, handful of cilantro and a few pinches of salt. Blend until pureed and set aside.
- To a small pot, heat a few teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Place the garlic atop and cook until fragrant, an additional minute. Pour in the rice, vegetable stock, tomato paste, cumin and salt; mix until completely combined. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, or until the liquid is dissolved and the rice is completely cooked.
- In the cast iron you used to roast the tomatillos (we're about minimal clean-up in these parts), heat a few teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the slices of plantain, a pinch of salt and cook on both sides for about 1-2 minutes, until slightly golden brown. Remove and set aside. Add the swiss chard, red wine vinegar and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 1-2 minutes, until wilted.
- To assemble the bowl, add the rice to the bottom of a bowl, top with the slices of plantains, wilted swiss chard, scoop of black beans, few slices of radishes and a spoonful of tomatillo salsa.
you had me at fried plantains….
I’m totally digging this! Yum!
This looks so good! I think I’d add some avocado too.
My date night is pretty much reality TV that my husband refuses to watch, like Real Housewives (must be OC or Beverly Hills). I’d be in PJ’s and would either be drinking some herbal tea or some champagne depending on my mood. I always go really simple on food when I’m alone, like avocado toast & eggs, or beans on toast, or really anything with toast.
I love dates with myself. Sometimes being by myself is the perfect solution to a hectic day. Plus it always involves some sort of reality TV.
This bowl looks great and I LOVE the watermelon radishes!
Two words: dee lish!
My personal date night recipe is a brown sugar crusted salmon with hot steamed rice, and a quick butter sautée of whatever veggie is hanging out in the fridge. Heaven.
I love dinner for one nights… you are free to make, eat and enjoy whatever you want!
Love the idea of being inspired by recipes from local vegan restaurants! My date for one routine is usually breakfast-style. I’ll let hub sleep in and take some time to catch up on my favorite blogs, make a bowl of cereal, and take in the morning nice and slow.
I really like the contrast in every component of this bowl! Tomatoey rice for the win. That pairs well with every thing on this planet.
Eating an amazing meal all by yourself is definitely one of the best things. This bowl looks great! I love the big pile of greens.
Date nights for me are usually spend lying on the couch with my cat, watching a good movie or maybe an old Disney classic, and eating a big bowl of mac and cheese, finished off with some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies!
If I’m wanting something a little more than mac and cheese, I go to my fave Indian restaurant, which is conveniently one block away from my house. I eat more curry than I should and brew myself some of my fancy teas (like salted caramel or toasted marshmallow!)
NASHVILLE! The best soap opera ever. can’t stop won’t stop.
It’s not nearly as sophisticated as this, I’m more of a honey bunches of oats Greek yogurt cereal kind if girl. But I think I’m going to give it a try, you had me at plantains!
What a beaut! I love treating myself to a fabulous dinner for one every now and then. Going to save this for my next night like this 🙂
I love this! I do enjoy a good dinner alone! My hubs was gone for a week last month and I made simple veggie pasta dishes or big crazy anything goes salad. I ate dinner in front of the tv, drank mocktails and watched Dallas 🙂 A couple years ago I got totally obsessed with the old series on dvd and the new series isn’t to shabby either.
This looks so interesting! I definitely understand wanting a little alone time.