The other night (last Saturday night to be exact), Betsy and I got together to make some dinner! She brought along her cookbook Appetite For Reduction and we made some falafel. Ryan and I have made falafel once before, but from the box, so this was exciting to be trying something new. And I must say, making falafel is easy and fun! There isn’t much prep work, except to measure and roughly chop, because the food processor (or Vita-mix) does all the work!
Baked Falafel
Serves 3-4
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic
½ small yellow onion, chopped roughly
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. hot sauce
3 Tbsp. chickpea flour
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp salt <— OOPS we forgot to season with salt and pepper… oh well, it still tasted delicious!
Black pepper, to taste <— OOPS
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
In a food processor, or Vita-mix, puree the chickpeas, garlic, onion, parsley, hot sauce and olive oil until almost completely smooth.
Put into a bowl and stir in the chickpea flour, spices and baking powder. Now would be the time to add the salt and pepper, but we forgot oops (: Add more chickpea flour if needed (the dough should be soft, yet able to hold its shape).
Using a scoop, or measuring spoon/cup, portion the dough into 12 patties, somewhat flattened. Place them onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 16 minutes, flip and bake another 12-15 minutes until browned on both sides.
That’s it!!! Homemade falafel that tastes better than any box mix you could try!!
We put ours into a whole wheat pita with Betsy’s homemade hummus made with white and garbanzo beans. Then we filled the pita to the brim with romaine lettuce. So delicious!
