Authentic falafels are meant to be made with soaked raw chickpeas and fried. These are made with canned chickpeas (easier) and baked (healthier) but have a delicious falafel like taste. They have a herby mint taste and are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The falafels are the recipe you want (and need to follow). You can pick and choose the sides and how you serve it. You can serve them in a bowl with a slew of sides and hummus like I’ve done, or you can serve them in a wrap or pita with hummus or tahina. The falafel balls keep well, so you make them ahead and warm them up before serving. For the hummus I used this 5-minute recipe, you can also try this beet hummus or sweet potato hummus. I served it with a kale slaw, green beans, quinoa and an Israeli salad.
Green Pea and Mint Baked Falafels
Ingredients
Green Pea and Mint Falafels (makes 33 falafels)
- 2 cans chickpeas rinsed and drained (3 Cups cooked chickpeas)
- 2 C frozen green peas
- 1 C fresh mint
- 1 C fresh parsley
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tbsp chickpea flour
Quick Kale Slaw
- 5 leaves Kale
- 1 carrot peeled and julienned
- Lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper
Green Beans
- 1 bag green beans trimmed and cut into pieces
- Lemon juice and salt
Quick Israeli Salad
- 1/3 cucumber diced
- 1 tomato diced
- Lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper
Herby Quinoa
- 1 C uncooked quinoa
- 2 C vegetable broth
- 1/2 C fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C and brush a baking tray with olive oil / line it with baking paper.
- Add all the falafel ingredients to a food processor and pulse until it combines and turns into a blended sticky and wet mixture. Do not overmix.
- Scoop out tablespoon sized balls of falafel mix and place them on your baking pan.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Remove and let cool slightly before removing from the pan.
- While the falafel is baking, cook the quinoa according to package instructions. Let cool, add in parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
- Prepare the rest of the sides.
- Combine the kale slaw ingredients and massage the dressing into the Kale.
- Combine tomatoes, cucumber and dressing in a bowl.
- Cook the beans by either steaming them or boiling them in water for 5-8 minutes until tender. Rinse under cold water and season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- If you’re making your own hummus, make it now as well.
- Divide your sides and falafels in bowls and serve.
