This surprisingly simple chickpea and farro bowl with basil tahini is something I’d like to serve you if you were to pop into my little lunch café. Well, it’s something I would like to serve you in late summer and early fall, when the basil is nearing the end of its season and zucchini are still growing like crazy. It’s an easy, lunch-friendly bowl. The bowl is filled with farro, chickpeas, strands of uncooked zucchini (you heard me right, and it’s good! I promise), and then drizzled with a basil tahini sauce that you can think of as a cousin of the best zhoug you ever had.
At a cafe, it would be categorized as cozy, fresh and filling. At home, it’s an easy, prep-able lunch. Plus, it’s so good for you and packed with micronutrients. What more could you ask for from a café? Well….a café that is your house 😉
How to make this basil tahini chickpea bowl for meal prepping
This is an ideal meal for meal-prep, however there are a few ways to keep this plant-based bowl fresh-tasting throughout the week.
You’ll see in the recipe I call for the dressing to be at the bottom of the bowl, and then I add the farro, chickpeas and zucchini on top before mixing. This is just because I find this the easiest way to mix the dressing, but for meal prep this is not ideal.
The best way to prepare this recipe for meal prep is:
- Combine the farro and chickpeas and then portion them into three equal sized air-tight containers.
- Peel the zucchini slices and evenly split them between the three containers, but don’t mix them in.
- Prepare the basil tahini dressing, but store it in either small reuseable cups, or plastic bags. Add each storage cup to a container so you have it portioned out.
Keep these prepped in your fridge, and when you are ready to eat, simply pour the dressing over the bowl, seal the lid on the airtight container and give everything a good shake to combine!
How is this basil tahini sauce similar to zhoug?
So, zhoug (or skhug, or zhug!) is a Yemeni hot sauce that is one of my all-time favorite condiments. There are many varieties, and they can range from brown zhoug, to green zhoug to red zhoug. They vary from region to region, but this basil tahini sauce is very similar to a classic green zhoug.
Green zhoug is made from a combination of green hot peppers, tender herbs, and then it is seasoned with coriander, garlic, salt, occasionally cumin, and various spices. It usually has lemon juice and jalapeño as its acid and heat.
This sauce closely mirrors zhoug, but instead of cilantro, we have basil, and instead of a myriad of spices, tahini is invited into the mix. Both sauces have similar profiles, so it’s only fitting to pay homage to the original concept!
Looking for other meal-prep friendly recipes?
Here are a few of my favorites:
This quinoa salad is nearly addictive. It is jam-packed with summer vegetables, filled with salty pan-fried halloumi, and covered in a creamy, slightly spicy coconut milk dressing. It makes four (large!) servings, and is one of my ideal meals for using up as many vegetables as I can.
This quickly-made dinner is a perfect weeknight for two, and if you haven’t considered Saffron dressing before, well, I hope this recipe will change your mind. Along with the stewed-down, garlicky tomatoes, the saffron oil is a flavor explosion. I pair it with a fresh side of turmeric-marinated onions, making this a vegetable-packed dinner that is supremely satisfying.
When hot salad season starts (and yes, it’s a thing) this Baked Kale Salad with Crispy Quinoa is the only one I want. All the vegetables are roasted in the oven, and the quinoa is toasted to a crispy perfection. It’s the perfect balance of flavors and a great way to pack vegetables into your meal.
And that’s it for this Basil Tahini Chickpea & Farro Bowl!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you.
Basil Tahini Chickpea & Farro Bowl
This easy bowl is a plant-based lunch (or dinner!) dream. Add chickpeas and farro as a hearty base, then top them with an easy, drizzle-friendly basil dressing that is similar to zhoug, but adds the nuttiness and richness of tahini into the mix. Strands of zucchini are the perfect vegetable pairing, and make the bowl supremely green. Which I find supremely satisfying.
Equipment
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1 food processor
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1 vegetable peeler
Ingredients
For the chickpea farro bowl
- 1 cup uncooked farro
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 14-ounce can of chickpeas
- 1 large zucchini 10 ounces / 283 grams
For the basil tahini dressing
- 2 cups packed basil leaves 2 ounces / 56 grams
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 large lemon for juicing
- 1 small jalapeño .5 ounces / 14 grams, seeds removed if you don’t like spice!
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup cool water
Instructions
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Set a medium pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Pour in 1 cup of farro and season the water with 1 teaspoon of salt. Reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the farro is cooked.
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While the farro is cooking, prepare the basil tahini sauce. Add 2 cups of basil, 3 small garlic cloves, juice of one lemon, 1 jalapeño (remove the seeds if you don’t like heat!), 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a food processor. Pulse until it is a smooth as possible.
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Pour in 1/4 cup of tahini and 1/4 cup of cool water into the food processor. Blend until smooth. Taste and season with more salt and lemon juice as preferred.
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When the farro is finished cooking, drain it and add it back to its pot. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them into the pot. Give a big mix to combine.
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Pour the basil tahini dressing into a large bowl. Add the chickpeas and farro. Use a vegetable peeler to peel in long strands of zucchini, rotating around the seeds so that no seedy pieces are added (those tend to fall apart and be a bit mealy). Toss everything to combine.
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Serve immediately!
