Falafel
Makes 15 2oz falafel
Time: 40 minutes prep
+ 40 minutes cook time
I love a good Falafel! But most of the recipes I’ve worked with want you to just soak dried chickpeas over night and then put them in the food processor the next day. This method DOES provide some good texture, but I find that it makes my intestines feel like they’re going to explode out of my abdomen. A common sentiment for a lot of people with legumes in general, but especially so if they’re not cooked properly.
This recipe is simple, bright and flavourful, and uses canned chickpeas to speed the process along. It’ll leave you feeling like you had a good meal, not like you need emergency surgery.
Ingredients
2 Cans (540ml ea.) of Chickpeas
1 Medium Red Onion, Diced
4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
2.5t Cumin
1/2t Smoked Paprika
1 bunch/approx 1.5c Cilantro, stemmed and roughly chopped
1 bunch/approx 1.5c Parsley, stemmed and roughly chopped
1 Lemon Juiced
Salt + Pepper to taste
Method
Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Depending on the size of your food processor, you may have to split everything into two relatively even batches and mix them together in a bowl.
Combine all of the ingredients in the food processor and mix until the chickpeas are broken down, and the herbs are more finely chopped and evenly dispersed. If you're splitting the ingredients into two batches, I like to blitz one batch until it's like a rough hummus, and keep the other batch really rough and chunky, mixing them together in a big bowl.
Using either a spoon, an ice cream scoop, or a 2oz portion scoop, make 15 balls of the mixture, flattening them out slightly to be like small hockey pucks. Place them on a parchment lined baking tray.
Dab the top of each falafel with a little bit of oil and bake at 450F for 35 minutes, until crunchy on the outside. Baking does a good job of drying them out a little bit and firming them up, but they don't always get super crunchy on the outside. Once they come out of the oven, you can pan fry each falafel until you get the crunch factor you're looking for. *I prefer to bake and then pan fry rather than just pan fry because I find that they can fall apart in the frying pan much easier if they haven't been baked first*
They're delicious in a bowl with brown rice and veggies, or wrapped up in a giant tortilla with all your favourite toppings! They keep well in the fridge for a few days for quick and easy lunches.
Leave a note and let me know what you think about this recipe!