The beauties of these falafels are that they are baked instead of fried, which makes them even healthier than they already are! They are great the traditional way inside a pita or as a salad. One of my favorite ways to eat falafel is to smothered them in tahini sauce on a bed of lettuce topped with cucumber, tomatoes, tzatziki sauce and a scoop of hummus.
Robby and I have both grown up eating falafel. I have wanted to do a post on them for quite some time. It took a while to develop this recipe how I envisioned them. I didn’t want to use regular flour or an egg, but it was hard to get them to stay together. I finally got them to work with garbanzo bean flour, which is cool because it has a better flavor and just makes sense.
Falafels are great with a Hefeweizen beer, Sauvignon blanc or a Pinot Noir.
Baked Falafel
Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup Dried Garbanzo Beans - 1 1/2 Cups soaked
- 1/4 Red Onion
- 1 Shallot
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Serrano Pepper - optional
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1/2 Teaspoon Paprika
- 1/2 Teaspoon Chili Flakes
- 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin
- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 Cup Cilantro
- 6 Tablespoons Garbanzo Bean Flour
- 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Double Batch - 16 to 20 patties
- 1 1/2 Cup Dried Garbanzo Beans 3 Cups Soaked
- 1/2 Red Onion
- 2 Shallots
- 6 Cloves Garlic
- 2 Serrano Pepper - optional
- 2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice - fresh squeezed
- 1 Teaspoon Paprika
- 1 Teaspoon Chili Flakes
- 1 Teaspoon Cumin
- 2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 2 Cups Cilantro
- 3/4 Cup Garbanzo Bean Flour
- 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Tahini Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Roasted Tahini
- 1/4 Cup about 1 Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 Cup Filtered Water
- 1 Clove Garlic
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
Tzatziki Sauce
- 12 oz. Greek plain Yogurt it has to be Greek due to less water content
- 1 Cucumber
- 1 Tablespoons Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1 Cloves Garlic
- 1 1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Dill or Mint or both optional
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt – or to taste
- Dash of Black Pepper
Serving options:
- Pita
- Tahini
- Tzatziki
- Cucumber
- Tomato
- Lettuce
- Kale
Instructions
Falafel
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Soak the beans overnight for 12 hours.
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Rinse the beans and set aside.
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In a food processor mince the onion, shallot, garlic, serrano pepper, lemon juice and spices, scrape the edges one time and pulse a few more times.
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Add the cilantro and half the garbanzo beans and pulse about 15 times, you want it a bit chunky.
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Add the flour and the rest of the garbanzo beans and pulse a few more times making sure to incorporate all the flour and leaving it with small pieces of garbanzo beans.
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Put in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Pre-heat oven to 375
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Form into golf ball size balls and press flat to form a disc and place them on the baking sheet.
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(Optional) Brush each one with olive oil using a pastry brush or carefully rub on with your fingers. Then with a spatula carefully flip them over and do the same to the other side.
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Bake for 15 minutes then flip over for 10 to 15 more minutes or until golden.
Tahini Sauce
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Add the garlic to a food processor or blender and turn on until the garlic sticks to the sides, scrape the bowl and turn on again.
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Measure all the other ingredients and puree until smooth. (about 1 – 2 minutes)
Tzatziki Sauce
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Peel the cucumber, cut in half and scrap out the seed with a spoon, then shred by hand or in the food processor using the shred attachment.
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Spread the cucumber on a cloth napkin or towel and sprinkle with a little salt, then squeeze out as much water as possible. You will be amazed at how much comes out, keep squeezin cause more will keep coming out.
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Add to the food processor with the yogurt then measure everything else and puree.
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It will thicken a bit if refrigerated.
Recipe Notes
I often make the tahini sauce and tzatziki the day before and I usually soak enough garbanzos for my roasted poblano jalapeno hummus. I cook the garbanzos beans for the hummus while I make the falafel.
Health Benefits:
Garbanzo beans are are super high in protein and extremely high in fiber, just one cup provides 50% of the Daily Value. Because of the fiber they are great for your heart, lowering blood cholesterol levels and the risk of heart attack as well as help prevent constipation and digestive disorders. Just one cup provides 84.5% of the daily value of manganese, which is a antioxidant that acts as a monitor of the free radicals in the body. If you are low in energy the high iron content will help and will transports oxygen from the lungs to all the cells in the body. They also help to balance blood sugar levels while providing steady, slow-burning energy. Garbanzo beans are helpful for weight loss as they keep you full longer.
