Baked Root Veg Fritters with Smoky Tahini Cream

I'm going to be really honest with you right now and let you in a little behind the scenes secret. This post and the last post were mostly inspired by what was left rolling around in my fridge and pantry. I didn't go to the store or farmers market specifically for ingredients. I pretty much let some ideas rolling around in my head and what was available in my kitchen blend together to inspire the recipes. It was an organic process, seeing what was available then going from there.  And, it's a great practice in resourcefulness. It keeps me on my toes and keeps veggies from being forgotten and eventually tossed out because they are way past their prime.

I've found it useful over the years to keep a near constant supply of root veggies in my fridge or pantry throughout the autumn and winter months. They have longer shelf lives and are really great staples that can be used in numerous ways to create delicious meals. Root veggies are not only grounding and nourishing (and just what your body needs during this season), but their bright colors offer tons of vitamins and nutrients.Simply roasting up a pan of them at the beginning of a week can give you the foundation of many meals and doesn't require a lot of hands on time or cash out of your pocket. It sounds like a win-win, right? Three cheers for the modest root veggie!

For this recipe, I chose to re-work an old blogpost (this one if you're curious) and make it more appropriate for the season. I went with a multi-colored line-up of beets, parsnips,  and rainbow carrots for these fritters. But, because I like to make recipes as accessible as possible to everyone, feel free to use 2 cups total of whatever root veggies you can easily get your hands on. I bet an all sweet potato version would be quite tasty and almost latke-like. To really make these humble little fritters special, I paired them with a smoky tahini cream. Once you taste the stuff you'll be thinking of what else you have in your kitchen that you can smear it on :)

Baked Root Veg Fritters with Smoky Tahini Cream
notes: The serving options I listed below are completely optional and happen to be how I chose to enjoy them while shooting the post. One option would be to simply serve a dollop of the cream on top of each fritter, or, you could make a little stack of fritters with cream in between each of them. 

for the fritters

3 tbsp flaxmeal + 6 tbsp warm water

3 tbsp almond milk (or other plant milk)

1/4 cup oat flour 

scant 1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 cups shredded root veggies (I used 1 parsnip, 3 carrots, & 1 beet)

3 green onions, sliced

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp minced fresh rosemary

for the smoky tahini cream

3/4 cup tahini

juce of 1 lemon

4-6 tbsp water (as needed to thin)

1 tsp smoked paprika

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp maple syrup

good pinch of sea salt

to serve
steamed greens (optional)
sesame seeds (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and grease a baking sheet really well with either coconut oil or olive oil (I don't recommend using parchment as the bottoms won't get a nice golden crust).

Combine the flaxmeal and warm water in a small bowl, mix it up a bit, then set it aside to thicken for 5 to 10 minutes.

In a separate larger bowl, toss together the shredded root veggies. green onions, garlic, and rosemary. Once the flaxmeal mixture has thickened, add the almond milk, oat flour, sea salt, and baking powder and mix until a smooth batter forms. Add this batter to the bowl with the root veggie mixture and fold it in until everything is well combined.

Place roughly 2 tbsp sized scoops of the fritter batter onto the prepared baking sheet and gently flatten the fritter out with your fingers. Repeat with the remaining fritter batter. Bake the fritters at 375 for 25 to 30 minutes or until the edges/bottoms are golden and the tops spring back when gently touched. Cool the fritters a few minutes on the pan before serving. Makes approximately 12 fritters

To make the tahini cream, add all of the ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. I preferred a thicker texture so I only used about 4 tbsp of water but if you want it thinner, aim for 5 or 6 tbsp (or more) of water. Makes approximately 1 cup of tahini cream.

To serve, nestle a few fritters on a bed of your favorite steamed greens. Place a generous dollop of the smoky tahini cream on top of each fritter then top off with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.