Spring Salad With Baked Falafel & Beet Hummus

This week, our local farms were harvesting beets, radishes, lettuce, mint, and blueberries. Using the bounty of the season as a guide for cooking, I decided on a salad that incorporated other produce complimenting what we already had, like the snap peas and carrot. With this approach, I think the plate reflects a beautiful and unique synergy of what late spring feels like. The lively mix of greenery and color has a bright contrast with the wave of beet hummus and falafel, as if to reflect the upcoming transition to summer.

My recipes are short sound bites of inspiration, with loose guidelines, leaving room for your own creativity. Everything originates from what's already growing around us. I hope you enjoy!

Recipe

Ingredients

Baked Falafel

• 1 1/2 cans of chickpeas

• 1/2 cup chopped red onion

• 1 cup cilantro

• 1 cup parsley

• 1 jalapeno pepper minced

• 3-4 cloves of garlic

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp cardamon

• 1/4 black pepper

• 1/2 cup flour of choice

• 3/4 tsp baking soda

• Olive oil to coat the pan

Beet Hummus

• 1 can chickpeas

• 3 small oven roasted beets (cover in olive oil and wrap in tin foil, then roast for 20 minutes at 400 F)

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• Juice and zest of 1 lemon

• 3 tbs tahini

• 3 cloves of garlic

• 1/4 cup filtered water to make it a spreadable consistency

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp pepper

Green Goddess Dressing

For this dressing, you can interchangeably use a variety of herbs like chives, dill, parsley, mint, tarragon, cilantro, and even garlic scapes. I chose this recipe based on what was growing.

• 2 cups of dill, cilantro, mint, and parsley

• 2 cloves Garlic and or Garlic Scapes

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 cup of greek or coconut yogurt

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 2 tbs olive oil

• Water to loosen dressing if needed
  

Salad

• Lettuce

• Blueberries

• A Carrot

• Sugar snap peas

• Pink radishes

• Mint
  

Directions

Baked Falafel

Blend all the ingredients except for the olive oil in a blender or a food processor.

Refrigerate the batter for at least an hour.

Line a pan with parchment or foil and coat with a light layer of olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Scoop out the falafel using a tablespoon, getting a heaping tablespoon, or even better, you can use a cookie scoop.

Smooth out the falafel pieces by rolling them with hands lightly greased in olive oil or a bit of water.

Baked them for 20 minutes.

Beet Hummus

Simply blend all of these ingredients until smooth, adding water or more chickpeas as needed for the desired texture.

Green Goddess Dressing

All you have to do is blend and adjust for the consistency you are looking for.

Salad

As the curator of your own plate, you can get creative with the salad. I ribboned the carrot using a peeler and arranged it like so. I used a mandolin to achieve thin radish slices. To show the inside of the snap pea, I used a paring knife to cut off half of it, along the rim of the snap pea. Then I arranged the mint to garnish the salad.