OUR FAVORITE FALAFEL RECIPE (gluten-free, vegan)

This is the best falafel recipe we have come up with so far! It’s an adaptation of many different recipes & has taken some time to perfect. If you have other suggestions on improvements or you’ve made successful changes, be sure to let us know! Hummus is a great addition, as well as the dips & sauces we recommended here. But feel free to get creative and serve these tasty falafels with anything that you wish.

One of Nick’s favorite ways to get creative is to shape the falafels into little hearts – this makes for an artistic and lovely meal 🙂

Nick’s special heart-shaped falafels with side of tahini lemon sauce, cucumber tzaziki dip, hummus & sliced cucumber.

Ingredients

• 4 cups chickpeas (or 2 x 15-oz cans)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp cumin, ground
• 1 tsp each ground coriander & turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup finely onion, minced (or 6 scallions, minced)
• ¼ cup packed parsley, minced
• ¼ cup water (a splash more if you used dried parsley)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• a few dashes of cayenne (and a few dashes more for a bit of spice)
• 1/3 cup gluten-free flour (we use Bob’s Redmill All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour)

Directions

– Rinse chickpeas & drain them well.

– Combine all ingredients but flour in a food processor (or mash in a bowl) until you have a uniform batter.

– Add flour and stir until thoroughly combined. (You can cook them now, or store in a covered container for several days)

Cook via frying:

– Heat a heavy skillet and add about 3 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat. When a drop of the batter sizzles when dropped into the oil, start dropping tablespoons full into the oil, flattening with the spoon so that you have small pancakes. Cook about 5 minutes per side; or until it is crisp on the outside and still soft on the inside.

– Place on paper towels to soak up grease & serve with your favorite sauce, dip, hummus, and pita.

Cook via baking (lower fat and still really tasty!):

– Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a baking pan & make batter into 1.5” balls (or 2” heart shapes) & flatten them to 1/2” – 3/4 “ thickness

– Bake for 10 mins one side, flip & bake another 10 mins the other side. Then broil 2 mins each side.

Recommended Sauce & Dip Recipes:

Tahini-Lemon Sauce Yields 1- 1 ½ cups (from Moosewood Cookbook)

• ¾ cup sesame tahini
• 5 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced
• ¾ – 1 cup water
• Salt to taste
• Fresh parsley
• Cayenne to taste (optional)

– Place tahini, lemon juice and garlic in a food processor or blender. Begin to process.

– With the motor running, add water until sauce reaches desired consistency (thinner than peanut butter, thicker than mayonnaise, in my opinion).

– Transfer to a small bowl or container, and season with salt, parsley, and cayenne if you want a little kick. Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready.

Cucumber-Tzaziki Dip

• 1 cucumber
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp dill (dried, more if fresh)
• dash salt & pepper
• 2-3 dallops plain yogurt or sour cream

– Blend all ingredients together and serve.