Baked Falafel

I have been wanting to try my hand at making falafel from scratch for sometime now. The first time I had falafel, it was made from a box. I have to say it was “nasty”! I tried the boxed falafel mix out when we were on our Daniel Fast, which was the starting point of me becoming a Vegan, I just didn’t know it at the time. :o) I was still a little hesitant at trying falafel again since the first time was such a bad experience. My cousin assured me that falafel made from scratch was no comparison….that it was so much better. So, I set out surfing the internet to find that perfect falafel recipe to try. I came across this baked falafel recipe on fatfreevegan that sounded really good, so I gave it a shot last night. Wow, I was so impressed. It tasted nothing like that “nasty” boxed kind that I had. It was delicious and very easy to make. Here is the recipe.


Falafel
15 ½ oz canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
¼ cup onion, chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp all- purpose flour

Dressing
2 Tbsp tahini
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 400F.
Combine chickpeas, onion, parsley, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt and baking soda in a food processor. Process until mixture is coarsely pureed and transfer to large bowl. Stir in flour, then shape mixture into 4 or 5 patties and let stand for 15 minutes.
Spray a large ovenproof skillet with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat (if you don’t have an ovenproof skillet, make sure to cover the handle of your skillet with aluminum foil before heating). Add patties and cook until golden brown, flipping once, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer pan to oven and bake 10 minutes.
For the dressing whisk together tahini, lemon juice, and water in a small bowl.

I really wasn't in the mood for a sandwich last night, so I fried up some zucchini and warmed up some left over couscous to go with the falafel. I put a spoon full of the dressing on top of the falafel to finish it off. It was delicious!

~Peace~