Cactus Club Dupe - Med Bowl

Med Bowl Recipe

This has to be one of the most flavourful dishes at Cactus Club. It’s also one of their best vegan meals! I would eat this dish all the time if I could, but with my goal of living within budget in 2024, I had to find a way to make it at home. It came out SO GOOD - 11/10! 💕⁠

When I made this for my family, then again for a friend, they were blown away. This really is a show-stopper of a meal and I’m not lying when I say I think this recipe is just as good (or better) than Cactus Clubs.

If you haven’t ever made hummus, let this be your sign it’s time. This recipe is easy, incredibly delicious and you could skip the roasted beet to keep it quick.

There are a few different elements to this dish, and I highly recommend making extra so you can have it for lunch a few days in a row. Our version includes falafels but you could easily add or sub in grilled chicken. ⁠

INGREDIENTS

SALAD

⁠Makes 4, with left over hummus, garlic sauce and pickled cabbage.

• 4-6 cups fresh greens ⁠(I used romaine and kale) - plate on their own without dressing.

• 2-3 baby cucumbers, sliced

• 1 cup baby tomatoes, mix of yellow and red - quartered

• 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced

• 1/2 cup mixed or kalmata olives, sliced

• 1/2 cup feta, crumbled (add more to your liking)

• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 tsp greek seasoning⁠

• salt + pepper

⁠ROASTED BEET HUMMUS

• 1 small beet, roasted

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• Juice of 1/2 a lemon

• 1/2 tsp salt

• Dash of pepper

• 2-3 cloves garlic

• 1/4 cup tahini

• 1 Tbsp water

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

GARLIC SAUCE

• 2/3 cup greek yogurt

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 tsp salt

• Dash of pepper

• 4-5 cloves of garlic

• 4 tbsp olive oil

QUICK PICKLED CABBAGE

• Needs about 2 hours in the fridge

• 1/4 red cabbage, shredded or chopped

• 1 cup rice vinegar

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 tsp salt

YELLOW RICE

• 1 cup uncooked jasmine or basmati rice

• 1 tsp turmeric or curry powder

FALAFEL

• We bought ours frozen. With a complex recipe likes this, making home made falafels felt like a bit too much work! We got ours from M&M meats and they were delicious!

DIRECTIONS

GREEK SALAD - Add everything from the salad ingredients, except for the leafy greens, to a bowl. Toss together. My guess is Cactus dresses their leafy greens with some olive oil but I recommend skipping it - the extra fat isn’t necessary and this plate is crazy flavourful. When you drizzle the garlic sauce you can always add more to the leafy greens. I recommend messaging your kale with a little salt. This was my first time buying greek seasoning as opposed to making it myself . . .I’ll never go back. Such a time saver!

ROASTED BEET HUMMUS - Clean the beet and trim off the root.  Drizzle on a little olive oil, wrap in tin foil and roast at 375 for 1 hour. Once done, let cool, then peel and cut into quarters.  Add to your food processor or nutri bullet with all ingredients except for olive oil. Once it becomes an even consistency, slowly add the oil while the blender is running.  Give it a taste and adjust seasoning as needed – I love a little extra salt! The beet give it this gorgeous colour, but if you are looking to keep it simple, just skip the beet baby!

GARLIC SAUCE - Add everything to a blender and blend till smooth.

YELLOW RICE - Cook rice according to package’s direction. Add your curry powder or tumeric powder to the water before bringing to a bowl. Cactus Club uses turmeric, but you can barely taste it. I just love curry and think the flavour compliments this dish even more than turmeric - so choose whichever spice appeals to you most.

FALAFEL - Cook according to package instructions. I used my air fryer and they came out awesome.

QUICK PICKLED CABBAGE - Mix all your brine ingredients in a large jar or container then add the shredded cabbage. Let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This lasts for a week in the fridge, but the brine can lasts for weeks - just strain out the cabbage and add in fresh cabbage!

ASSEMBLY - Add everything to the plate! Keep the beet hummus and cabbage opposite each other for a gorgeous colour contrast, and add your falafel on top of your rice. Drizzle on your garlic sauce to your liking. Keep in mind this garlic sauce is tres garlicky!

KID TIP - I grabbed some pitas for my kids. They aren’t huge salad fans, but put everything in a pita and they are in love!!!

ENJOY!!!

XO, Andrea