Beetroot and Carrot Fritters w/ Roasted Chickpeas and Tahini Dressing

by Lou Robbie

Beetroots grow very happily in Irish soil. They are earthy and sweet and juicy and full of flavour. You can boil, steam or roast them to eat as a wholesome side veg, to make into a puree or beautiful pink hummus. I love to grate them to use raw in a salad or they go perfectly in these tasty fritters accompanied by the grated carrot.

You can whip these fritters up in about 20 minutes. I recommend using the fine side of your box grater, they cook quicker that way. Eat them solo or add some crunchy chickpeas, local leaves and a tahini dressing to make it a meal.

By seasoning with salt and pepper you get the real taste of the vegetables. When you use quality ingredients the natural flavours shine through.

I’ve made a tahini yoghurt dressing or try Liz’s Vegan Garlic Mayo.

Lou 🙂

For the fritters: (Makes 8-10 approx – serves 4 as a starter)

  • 2 raw beetroot, peeled
  • 2 raw carrots, peeled
  • 4 scallions (green onions), cleaned
  • Pinch salt
  • Pinch pepper
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons self raising flour, more if needed. (Rice or gram flour work here too, just add ½ tsp of baking powder) 
  • Oil to fry

For the roasted chickpeas: 

For the tahini dressing: 

  • 1 cup of yoghurt (use dairy or non dairy alternative)
  • 2 tablespoons light tahini
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
  • 1/2 lemon, zest and juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste

To serve: 

  • Green leaves, washed
  • Cucumber ribbons (made using a vegetable peeler)

For the chickpeas:

  1. Preheat the oven 180℃.
  2. Open the can of chickpea and drain really well. Tip: You can reserve the aqua faba (chickpea juice) to make a sweet dessert like pavlova.
  3. Pour the chickpeas onto a tray lined with parchment paper. Using kitchen paper dry the chickpeas really well. 
  4. Make up the spice mix by adding the paprika, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper to a small bowl. Mix with a spoon. Then sprinkle over the chickpeas. You can add more salt later if needed. 
  5. Drizzle with oil and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Check and shake the tray every 10 minutes. 
  6. The chickpeas will be crunchy when you’ve roasted them. They are best eaten on the day they are roasted but if using the next day pop in the oven again for 10 minutes so they are warm and crunchy. Keep them in an air tight jar in your cupboard. 

For the fritters: 

  1. Begin by peeling and grating the beetroot and carrot, use the fine side of the box grater. Tip: Hold the raw beetroot with kitchen paper so your hands don’t turn pink. Add to a mixing bowl. 
  2. Finely chop the scallions and add this to the bowl. Crack in the egg, add salt and pepper, sprinkle in the flour. Fold all the ingredients together.
  3. Warm a non stick frying pan on a medium heat, lightly oil. Add a spoon of the beetroot mix and flatten with the back of the spoon, cook 3 fritters at a time. Fry for a couple of minutes and flip and cook for a few minutes more. Remove with a spatula onto a plate lined with kitchen paper. Repeat with the rest of the mix. 

For the tahini dressing: 

  1. Simply add the yoghurt, tahini, lemon zest and juice, maple syrup or honey, salt and pepper to a bowl and mix well with a spoon. 

To serve: 

Add some washed green leaves to a serving bowl, add 2-3 fritters per portion. Scatter on the chickpeas, dollop over the tahini dressing, peel some cucumber ribbons and bundle on tip and add a swirl of olive oil. 

Blackened Tofu Tacos with Fresh Tomato Salsa

by Lou Robbie

Tacos are perfect for summer eating, outdoor festivals and they’re great to make at home too #homemade! These tofu tacos are inspired by a recent trip to a music festival, while there, I tried some bean tacos but these tofu ones are really delicious and the salsa brings so much freshness and flavour. They work so well for a super tasty lunch or add some spiced rice to have for dinner.

A bag of mixed Irish leaves that I picked up from the Green Earth Organics Saturday Farm Shop serves as the perfect paring along side the spicy tofu and zingy salsa. And I have to say, the salsa sings with the flavour packed organic tomatoes, local cucumbers and red onions!! 

Give these finger licking tacos a go this summer.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients – Serves 2 (makes 6 tacos)

For the tofu: 

For the blackening spice mix: 

  • 1 tablespoon cornflour (this helps to keep tofu crispy)
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika 
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt

For the tomato salsa: 

  • 2 large ripe tomatoes
  • ¼ cucumber
  • 1 red onion
  • Zest and juice of half a lime
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil 
  • Pinch of salt and pepper 

To serve the tacos: 

Method: 

  1. Open the packet of tofu, discard the liquid and it pat dry with kitchen paper. 
  2. Carefully slice into 1cm cubes and place in a bowl or container. 
  3. Pour the soy sauce or tamari on top and set aside to marinate for at least 20 minutes. 
  4. Next make the blackened spice mix, simply measure all the ingredients into a wide dish and mix well with a fork. 
  5. To make the salsa, with a sharp knife, cut the tomato into quarters and carefully cut out the seeds, reserve the seeds for a sauce or soup. Finely dice the flesh and place in a bowl. Repeat with the cucumber and red onion. 
  6. To the same bowl add the zest and juice of half a lime, olive oil, sprinkle in a pinch of salt and pepper and gently fold the ingredients together to complete the salsa. 
  7. To cook the tofu. Add the tofu to the container with the blackened spice mix and toss to coat. 
  8. Heat a non-stick frying pan on a medium to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil. 
  9. When the oil is hot add half of the tofu. They should sizzle and not burn on the pan, carefully turn the tofu with tongs or a fork to cook on all sides. Lift onto a plate lined with kitchen paper. Repeat with the rest of the tofu. 
  10. To serve: Line up the tortilla wraps (you can warm them first if you wish) add some organic leaves, top with salsa, blackened tofu, sour cream and fresh coriander.