Middle Eastern Flavours - Griddled Beetroot, Onion and Flatbreads with Spiced Chickpeas & Ezme Salad

The perfect meal for sharing - you can serve all the elements in separate dishes so everyone at the table can assemble their own toppings on their yoghurt flatbread.

Griddled Beetroots and Onions

Vegan, Gluten-free | Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 medium beetroot
• 4 small onions
• 2 tsp sunflower oil
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Peel the beetroot, wrap each whole beetroot in foil and roast for 1 hour on 180CFan until soft.
2. Heat a griddle pan.
3. Cut each beetroot into 6 wedges.
4. Peel the onions and cut in half through the middle.
5. Brush the beetroot and onions with a drop of sunflower oil and sprinkle of salt.
6. Place them on the griddle pan and cook to create some black lines and make sure the onion is soft and cooked through.

Yoghurt Flatbreads

Vegan | Makes 4 breads

Ingredients

• 250g self-raising flour, plus a little extra for dusting
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200g plain soya yoghurt

Method

1. Put the flour, salt, baking powder and olive oil into a bowl.
2. Pour in the yoghurt, mix well with a spoon until you have a smooth sticky dough.
3. Sprinkle flour onto the table and tip the dough out onto it and dust with a little flour.
4. Divide the dough into half, then each one into half again.
5. Dust a rolling pin with flour then roll the pieces of dough out into 1/2cm thick round shapes.
6. Lay them on a slightly floured tray.
7. Put a griddle pan on a high heat until hot.
8. Once it’s really hot, cook each flatbread for a couple of minutes per side, until slightly puffy and lightly charred – you’ll need to do this in batches.

You can freeze any leftover flatbreads, simply defrost thoroughly and warm through in the oven wrapped in foil or lightly re-toast them under a grill.

Spiced Chickpeas

Vegan, Gluten-free | Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sumac
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C Fan.
2. Drain the chickpeas and rinse. Place the chickpeas in a roasting tin and mix with the spices, oil and salt.
3. Roast for 20 minutes until golden brown and crunchy.

Ezme Green Salad

Vegan, Gluten-free | Serves 4

Ingredients

• 150 spinach, chopped
• A handful offlatparsley, chopped
• ½ red pepper, diced
• ½ green pepper, diced
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 100g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 tsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tbsp pomegranate syrup
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Mix all the vegetables together in a large bowl and mix in the sherry vinegar, pomegranate syrup, olive oil and salt.

Roast Garlic Yoghurt Sauce

Vegan, Gluten-free | Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 whole garlic bulb
• 40g ground almonds
• 50ml hot water
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 50ml plain non-dairy yoghurt
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C Fan.
2. Roast the garlic bulb for 30 minutes until soft. Allow to cool.
3. Pour the hot water over the ground almonds and leave to soak for 10 minutes. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and mash with the olive oil in a pestle and mortar. Add the soaked ground almonds and keep mashing as you add the vinegar, lemon juice and then the yoghurt. Add salt to taste.

Delicious food photography by Rob Wicks of Eat Pictures. Recipe also featured in the August issue of Vegetarian Living.

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