Tuna grain bowl with caraway cauliflower and grapes

Our grain bowl is a base of mixed grains (quinoa, wild rice, freekeh), topped with tuna, cauliflower that’s been tossed in caraway salt and roasted until caramelised.

Tuna grain bowl with caraway cauliflower and grapes Credit: Benito Martin

• makes

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

We’ve added grapes for sweetness and pickled eschalot and sour cherries for a tart tang. It’s a salty-sweet, nutrient-dense bowl to keep you going all day. Serve hot, at room temperature or straight from the fridge.

Ingredients

Grain bowl

• 150 g (1 cup) freekeh (farro)
• 80 g (½ cup) red quinoa
• 40 g (¼ cup) wild rice
• 625 ml (2½ cups) water
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 x 125 g cans Sirena Tuna Slices in Oil, well drained

Pickled eschalot dressing

• 1 large eschalot (about 90 g), halved and very thinly sliced
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 65 g (⅓ cup) sour cherries, halved, or ⅓ cup currants
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) red wine vinegar

Caraway cauliflower

• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1½ tsp sea salt
• ½ small head cauliflower (about 450 g)
• ½ bulb fennel (about 200 g)
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 100 g seedless red grapes, sliced widthways into quarters
• ½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• ½ cup fennel fronds (optional), roughly chopped

Instructions

1. For the grain bowl, combine the freekeh, quinoa and wild rice a saucepan, rinse thoroughly and drain well. Add 2½ cups water. Place over medium-high heat, cover with a lid slightly ajar and bring to the boil, then reduce to medium and cook for about 40 minutes or until the grains are tender but still have a bite. Turn off heat, fluff the grains with a fork, wrap the saucepan lid in a tea towel, then place securely on the pan and let grains steam for 10 minutes.
   
   
2. For the eschalot dressing, place the eschalot and salt in small bowl and use your hands to rub the salt in. Leave for 10 minutes to soften, then drain off any liquid. Add the sour cherries and cover with the vinegar. Set aside until ready to use (allow to pickle for at least 15 minutes).
   
   
3. For the caraway cauliflower, preheat the oven to 220ºC (conventional). Lightly toast the caraway and salt together in a small frying pan over medium heat for about 1 minute or until fragrant and but not burnt. Roughly crush using a mortar pestle and set aside.
   
   
4. Break the cauliflower head into small florets and thinly slice the stem lengthways and place in a large bowl. Trim the fennel and reserve ½ cup fronds for later. Halve the bulb lengthways, remove the core, slice lengthway into 3-5 mm slices and add to the cauliflower. Add the caraway salt, pepper and olive oil and toss with your hands to coat everything well. Spread over two large baking trays, making sure there is a lot of spaces around the pieces as you want them to caramelise.
   
   
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until nicely caramelised. Remove from the oven and set aside. Allow to cool slightly, then place in a bowl, add the grapes, parsley and fennel fronds and gently toss to combine.
   
   
6. When the grains are ready, while still hot, add the pickled eschalot dressing and stir to distribute evenly. Drizzle over the oil and stir to coat well.
   
   
7. Divide the grains among bowls, top with the caraway cauliflower and slices of tuna.
   
   

 

Photography by Benito Martin. Styling by Lynsey Fryers. Food preparation by Tammi Kwok. Creative concept by Belinda So.

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Australians have been enjoying the unrivalled taste and quality of SIRENA tuna since 1956. Sirena tuna is made only with the highest quality ingredients, including our premium oil blends and high specification tuna. All of Sirena's tuna products are delicious, healthy, suitable for different moments of your day, and can be enjoyed on their own or as an ingredient in meals. For more recipes from our SBS collection of SIRENA tuna recipes, go here.  

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

We’ve added grapes for sweetness and pickled eschalot and sour cherries for a tart tang. It’s a salty-sweet, nutrient-dense bowl to keep you going all day. Serve hot, at room temperature or straight from the fridge.