vegan pesto potato grain bowls

hi friends! i’m sitting in complete and total silence aside from the gentle drilling noises that are faintly trickling their way up to the fourth floor from parking lot construction below me, as i recently discovered 12 seconds ago that I can’t type a coherent or even mildly interesting sentence if there is background music on to save my life. let me paint a picture for you: i piled a bowl full of leftovers (these exact vegan pesto potato grain bowl leftovers, as it were,) cracked open a pomegranate sparkling water, nestled myself under a blanket on the bed, propped several pillows behind me so i’m not at a complete horizontal, tucked my hair into my hoodie, pulled said hoodie up (cozy, ok?), and hit shuffle on a 7+ hour roadtrip playlist as i poised myself to write this post. just as the opening notes crescendo’d in, i found myself staring at the wall with absolutely nothing of note to say about kale or how great this pesto is or how much i really love a roasted baby potato.

TO BE FAIR, the song was whitney houston’s ‘I will always love you’ and truly HOW does once concentrate with that power ballad pounding through your heart and gutting you straight in the feels in the middle of your work day. how?

is anyone else like this? i’ve learned about myself that i can’t listen to a podcast intently unless i’m listening to it in the car or through headphones, and apparently, I can’t noncommittal-y enjoy music, either.

anyway, soldering on to discuss the loveliness that is these pesto potato grain bowls. we love a bowl! we love that you can toss literally any combination of things into a bowl and call it a “blank blank grain bowl,” and it will delicious matter what.

for these vegan pesto potato grain bowls, there are a lot of things happening here, and also, not that many things at all happening here. weirdly a metaphor for life, no? we’ve got several staple ingredients: dark, leafy kale, meaty mushrooms, bright tomatoes, crispy baby potatoes, brown rice, fresh basil, garlic, but, that’s basically it. many delicious components but actually quite simple in the sum of it’s parts.

the secret sauce here is the actual sauce - the kale pesto that we toss when the potatoes are just out of the oven and piping hot so they warm the pesto and give us basil-y garlick-y lemon-y magic in every bite. i like doing pestos with greens like kale, arugula, or spinach rather than just straight basil because i find they’re less bitter and last a little longer in the fridge. that being said, if you have a pesto you LOVE, totally a-ok to use that here, too.

a few things before we get started:

- if you want to skip boiling the potatoes first, slice them in half and roast for 30 minutes instead
- you can use any grain you want! i like the chewiness of brown rice here, but faro or quinoa would be great, too
- you can dress the kale well ahead of time if you’re assembling these for meal prep. lacinato kale holds up really well to oil so you won’t need to worry about it getting soggy
- you’ll likely have leftover potatoes. i think it can be stated as fact that potatoes in any form make a great snack
- if you aren’t eating a vegan diet, feel free to add another protein to this. leftover chicken or salmon would be beautiful here

vegan pesto potato grain bowls
makes: 2-4 servings
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes

for the bowls:
1 1/2lbs gold baby potatoes
2c baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
2c cherry or grape tomatoes
2c brown rice, cooked
6c lacinato or dinosaur kale, stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2c fresh basil leaves, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil, divided + extra to massage the kale
1tsp salt, divided
1tsp black pepper, divided

for the pesto:
2c lacinato or dinosaur kale, stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces
1c fresh basil leaves
1/2c pistachios (pine nuts, almonds, or walnuts would work well here, too)
1 clove of garlic
zest and juice from 1 lemon
1/2c olive oil
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp black pepper

preheat the oven to 425.
fill a large pot with water and boil the potatoes for 20 minutes ( you want them to be able to prick them easily with a fork.) drain the potatoes, then toss with 1tbsp olive oil, 1/2tsp salt, and 1/2tsp pepper. arrange on a baking sheet, and roast for 10 minutes to get them crispy.

meanwhile, massage the kale in olive oil and set aside.

blend the ingredients for the pesto until the kale and basil are broken down and a thick paste forms. if you like your pesto looser, add more oil. set aside.

while the potatoes cook, heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. add the mushrooms, tomatoes, and minced garlic. season with the remaining salt and pepper, and saute for 10 minutes. (you want the tomatoes to have a light char to them and to be just-about-bursting.) stir in the fresh basil.

once the potatoes have roasted and have a golden crisp, toss them with 3/4 of the pesto while they’re still hot.

to assemble the bowls, add a portion of rice to the massaged kale, then the mushroom and tomatoes, then a few of the pesto potatoes. i like to top these bowls with a bit more pesto, fresh basil, and a crack of pepper.