Baked Falafels

This months has passed in a crazy fast whirlwind of busyness. Although I haven't been blogging much due to some complicated internet issues, I have been working hardcore behind the scenes to get a few things complete for the next step of Plates for Plants

My partner and I have been working lonnng hours to get the new Plates for Plants website up and running. It is looking pretty darn good if I do say so myself and will blow what it currently looks like out of the water! I've been on  steady learning binge with HTML and CSS terms being crammed into my brain. I'm loving it!

Also, I;ve been working hard on the next eBook. I'm planning for a July release, just in time for this blog's first anniversary! I can't believe it's already coming up fast. I'll be releasing sneak peeks and details throughout June to get you guys as excited as I am about it!

Now let's get to the REALLY important stuff. The food! This was my first time making falafels, not to mention oil and fat free ones. They come out a bit denser than their fried counterparts, but just as delicious. I used the traditional method of using chickpea that haven't been cooked prior. They just soaked overnight and I poured some boiling water over them the next morning to soften them a bit. That being said, since these are being baked I think that a short 10 minute par-boil would make them less dense. I'll try that next time I make some.

These are perfect for a late afternoon snack on their own, or on a salad as pictured. I'm excited to try them in a wrap as well! The salad was fairly simple, just leaf lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, olive and parley with some hummus for a dressing. A simpel Tahini-Lemon dressing would also be great here.

Baked Falafels

Ingredients:

- 1 lb dried chickpeas, soaked overnight

- 1 large onion, minced

- 1/2 bunch fresh parsley, chopped fine

- 2 garlic cloves, minced

- 2 tbsp lemon juice

- 1 tbsp cumin

- 1 tsp fresh ground pepper

- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)

- 1 hot pepper, minced (opt)

Pre-heat oven to 350F

Drain your chickpeas and toss them into your food processor or blender. I had to do this in batches, so I added a relatively proportionate amount of the other ingredients in the blender per batch.

Pulse until everything is well incorporated and ressembles a paste. But be careful not to make it a mush either! This isn't hummus. It should still be visibly flakey. 

Toss everything into a large bowl and mix in with your hands to get everything evenly distributed.

Test to see if the mixture holds together, if it's too wet add a bit of flour, if too dry, add a little water.

With your trusty hands, start forming balls of equal size, then lay them out on a parchment paper line baking sheet and flattem them to disks as pictured.

Bake for about 30 minutes. I found that I didn't have to flip them, but you can do so if desired at the halfway mark.

Enjoy!