This vegetarian Winter Grain Bowl with roasted root vegetables, earthy grains, sweet dried fruit, lots of delicious spices, and protein rich chickpeas is as colorful as it is nutritious.
Preheat the oven to 375º F. Place the chopped carrots, parsnips and shallots in a large ovenproof dish. Add the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, 1 tablespoon of the oil, and all other spices and mix well. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.
Add the chopped sweet potato, stir and return to the oven. Continue cooking for about 35 minutes, by which time the vegetables should have softened while retaining a bite, stir halfway through cooking. Add the dried apricots and the chickpeas with their cooking liquid and/or water. Return to the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes or until hot.
In the meantime, cook the whole grains in the vegetable broth according to the package directions, adding the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Remove the bay leaves and the cinnamon stick.
To serve, spoon cooked whole grains into a deep plate or bowl. Spoon the vegetables onto the center of the grains. Finish with lots of cilantro leaves as desired.