Summer is finally here and I’m very excited to be making lighter meals with more fresh local produce. I also started the summer series of my online cooking classes last weekend and we kicked off the lessons by making one of my personal favourite warm weather recipes: Falafel Roasted Chickpea Bowls!

This recipe is very flavour, colourful and, as you’ll see in the photos below, very versatile. You can use my recipes as guidelines or follow them to a tee, but because this recipe is so forgiving you can easily add your own twists or tweaks to satisfy your tastebuds.

Before we get to the recipe I wanted to show you a few photos that my cooking lessons participants shared with me on Instagram and in my private Facebook community page following last weekend’s lesson (you can click on the photos to enlarge them). It’s amazing how one recipe can yield such varied, yet delicious results. If you make this recipe be sure to take a photo and tag me on Instagram or in my Facebook group as I love seeing your creations.

Falafel Roasted Chickpea Bowls

Yields 4 - 6 servings

Ingredients:

Salad components:
Falafel Roasted Chickpeas (see recipe below)
1 - 2 cups grain of your choice, cooked
4 - 6 cups of mixed leafy greens
1 cucumber, chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half
Pickled beets, pickles or other pickled or fermented veggies, for garnish
Chopped mint or parsley, for garnish
Sesame seeds or hemp hearts, for garnish

Tahini dressing: 
1/3 cup tahini
Juice of half a lemon
1-2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup water or more 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of cayenne

Directions: 

To make the tahini dressing: Either Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth or vigorously whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl or measuring cup. Add more water to make the dressing looser. Give it a taste and adjust the salt if needed. Transfer to a jar and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

To assemble your salad: Start by adding 1/4 cup grain of your choice and 1/4 cup Falafel Roasted Chickpeas to a large soup bowl (these ingredients may be eaten warm or cold). Then add approximately 1 cup of leafy greens and a handful of cucumber and tomatoes. Drizzle a generous portion of dressing overtop, and garnish your bowl with as many pickled beets and parsley as you see fit. A top with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

****

Falafel Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients:

2 (14 ounce/400 mL) cans of chickpeas or 3 cups cooked chickpeas
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch of cayenne

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon liner. If using canned chickpeas, rinse and drain the chickpeas.

Add the chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, and cayenne to a medium to large sized bowl and toss until all the chickpeas have been evenly coated.

Transfer the chickpeas to the prepared baking sheet and spread them out in to one even layer.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring once halfway.  You may need to bake the chickpeas even longer depending on how dry and crunchy you want them to be. This depends on personal preference as well as the heat of your oven. Generally 40 minutes is sufficient, but I’ve also roasted them even longer to get a nice crunch!

Enjoy these chickpeas as part of the Falafel Bowl or on their own as a snack.  Store them in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge.

If you enjoyed the recipe I shared above be sure to check out my Plant-Based Breakthrough program, which is a crash course in plant-based health, nutrition, and meal planning. For details about the program click here. You can also join the Plant-Based Breakthrough Community on Facebook where I share recipes, inspiration, and information on plant-based nutrition.