I love anything middle-eastern, especially falafel. As an appetizer, on a salad, or stuffed into a pita, these crispy, delicious chickpea herb spiced patties are irresistible. However, sometimes they can be a little heavy and greasy when they are deep-fried. So, I bake them instead, which is just as delicious and much easier. Enjoy!
Falafel with Tahini dressing
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: 24 patties
Ingredients
- FALAFEL:
- 2 cups dried chickpeas (Do NOT use canned or cooked chickpeas)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup roughly chopped cilantro
- 1 cup roughly chopped parsley
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- fresh ground pepper
- vegetable oil for cooking
- TAHINI DRESSING:
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-3 tablespoons cold water, more if needed
- 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
- 1-2 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Fresh ground pepper
- SALAD:
- 2 heads of Romaine, washed and thinly sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
- 2 Persian cucumbers, washed and chopped (or 1 medium English cucumber with seeds removed)
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- 2 tablespoon roughly chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped mint
- warm pita for serving
Instructions
- The night before, soak the dried chickpeas in a large bowl of water. Make sure the water covers the chickpeas by 2-3 inches, as they'll triple in size. Soak overnight for 18 hours (longer if the chickpeas are still too hard).
- When ready, rinse, drain and dry the chickpeas and add them to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade. Add the baking soda, herbs, onions, garlic, lemon juice and zest, and spices and pulse the food processor several times until well mixed.
- Transfer the falafel mixture to a container and cover tightly. Refrigerate for at least 1-5 hours until ready to cook.
- When ready to cook, pre-heat oven to 340 degrees.
- Grease a large rimmed baking sheet with 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil.
- Taste the mixture and add salt if necessary.
- Roll the bean mixture into about 24 balls, about 1½ inches each, and place on the prepared baking sheet then lightly flatten them into thick patties and brush the tops with a little olive oil.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, then flip carefully. Bake another 10 minutes, until well golden brown on both sides. Remove from oven.
- Meanwhile, whisk all the dressing ingredients together until smooth, adding water to thin if necessary. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Place lettuce in a medium salad bow. Top with cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, herbs and then top with falafel. Drizzle with ½ of the dressing and reserve the rest for serving.
Delicious