By now everyone is aware of how amazing chickpeas are. They’re the basis for hummus, a tasty additive to salads, and the foundation for falafels. Although I’ve always loved the taste of chickpeas—it wasn’t until I got into cooking that I really started to experiment with other uses for them. To me “falafel” sounds more like what initiates a “gesundheit” response rather than a menu item.
So, what is a falafel?
It’s traditionally a deep-fried ball of mashed chickpeas. What? Doesn’t sound as interesting now?
The first time I tasted this dish was at 3 AM from a sketchy food truck vendor on 6th avenue. I’m not sure if it was the food or the few drinks I had consumed—but it blew my mind!
I do, however, remember thinking, “deep fried = megacalories”.
Why do we think we always have to fry everything to make it taste good? Don’t hate me-but I typically don’t like fried foods. I feel like the majority of the time they end up tasting the same, and leave me feeling like I need to wash my face. (My one exception is french fries… I would do some unspeakable things for a good fry).
ANYWAY….I decided I’d attempt a healthier way to reproduce the falafel experience. The first attempt, I’ll admit, came out a little dry. I played with different cooking techniques and found that baking it actually gives it the deep fried texture without making it taste too oily. And after experimenting with a few different sauces to accompany it, I think I might be able to give that food truck vendor a run for his money!
Yields: 5 sandwiches
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Freezer Time 20 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total: 55 minutes
Ingredients:
2 15 oz cans chickpeas, drained
4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp parsley, chopped and divided
5 cloves garlic, diced
1 scallion, sliced
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp cumin
3 tbsp fat free plain greek yogurt
For Yogurt Sauce:
½ cup fat free plain greek yogurt
½ tsp dill
2 tbsp chopped parsley
For Assembly:
5 pita pockets
5 tbsp tahini dressing
½ cup spinach leaves
5 pieces of thinly sliced tomato, then halved
5 pieces of thinly sliced cucumber, then halved
1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. In a food processor, combine all of the falafel ingredients and pulse until mixed (it should be a little chunky).
3. Using your hands, shape mixture into oval shaped patties and place on parchment paper.
4. Freeze patties X ~20 minutes to set.
5. In a separate bowl, mix together ingredients for yogurt sauce. Set aside.
6. Bake falafels at 400 X 15 minutes. Flip and bake an additional 5 minutes.
7. Spread yogurt sauce and tahini dressing on pita. Add falafel, spinach, tomato, and cucumber.
The Cook’s 2 Cents
· When blending falafel ingredients, you want there to still be some visible chickpeas. If it’s “overblended” it becomes too moist and won’t form a patty well.
· The precooked patty is pretty wet. I recommend freezing or refrigerating prior to cooking to set it, otherwise it’s very difficult to handle while cooking.
· I like using ground coriander for this because the food processor doesn’t seem to get the coriander seeds crushed enough. When I first started making these, I was using coriander seeds and ended up almost breaking a tooth when I bit down on one of those guys!
· I’ve tried both pan frying and baking these. I definitely like the texture of the baked falafels more. They are crispier on the outside resembling the “deep fried” consistency of the delectable but unhealthy original versions. Plus, I found when I pan fried them I spent a good 10 minutes fanning smoke away from my smoke detector and then another 20 minutes scraping my pan clean.
· I shape the falafels into ovals because I’ve found that they fit better into the pita pockets than rounded ones.
Nutrition facts:
Serving size: 1 falafel
Servings: 5
Calories: 156 Fat: 2g Sodium: 340mg Carbs: 27g Fiber: 5g Sugars: 3g Protein: 8g
With pita, 1 ½ tbsp. yogurt, 2 slices each of the veggies, and 1 tbsp tahini dressing
Serving size: 1 sandwich
Servings: 5
Calories: 267 Fat: 3.5g Sodium: 528mg Carbs: 49g Fiber: 10g Sugars: 4g Protein: 13g
