Falafels
I don’t think I could ever get tired of eating falafels. Especially those that are not fried, but rather cooked in a pan with a little oil. Easier to digest, they’re also nutritious, cheap ($) and delicious!
Economical : This recipe is very economical, especially if you cook your chickpeas yourself. In fact, 1 bag of 900 g of dried chickpeas costs $ 2.59 and gives about 11 cups of cooked chickpeas, which comes down to $ 0.50 of chickpeas for 12 to 14 falafels. The rest of the cooked chickpeas freeze easily in mason jars. To learn how, read the article here.
Fresh herbs : We don’t always have parsley or fresh coriander, but for this recipe, I really advise to have at least one of them fresh and the other one dry.
Prep : 10 min
Rest : 30 min (optional)
Cooking : 10 min
Servings : 12-14 falafels
Ingredients
540 ml chickpeas (canned or cooked)
1 small onion (½ cup (125 ml))
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp (15 ml) lemon juice
2 Tbsp (30 ml) fresh parsley
2 Tbsp (30 ml) fresh coriander
⅓ cup (85 ml) whole wheat flour
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
1 tsp (5 ml) cumin
½ tsp (2.5 ml) pepper
3 Tbsp (45 ml) neutral oil (I used sunflower oil)
Preparation
Pour all ingredients except the oil into a food processor and blend until fairly smooth (about a minute). If you don’t have a food processor, you can also mix by hand after crushing the chickpeas using a potato masher and finely cutting all the ingredients.
If possible, put the mixture in the fridge for about 30 minutes (optional).
In a frying pan
Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.
Make small balls with the mixture and flatten them (faster and more even cooking). To obtain 12 to 14 falafels, the patties should contain about 2 Tbsp of the mix.
Place the falafel in the skillet and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then return and continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes. If necessary, add a little oil in the pan.
In the oven
Heat the oven to 350F and prepare 2 baking sheets with a silicone mat.
Form small balls with the mixture and place on the baking sheets. Pour a little oil on the plate and roll the balls in it, one by one.
Bake for about 10-15 minutes, turning halfway through, until a little hard on the outside.
Presentation
Serve alone with vegetables as a side dish, in a bowl with rice or as a falafel pita in whole wheat pitas with garlic sauce (mix vegan sour cream and garlic) and/or hummus, cucumber, tomato, lettuce, turnips and onion.
Recipe adapted from Fraîchement Pressé : https://www.fraichementpresse.ca/recettes/falafels-maison-1.1645031
