Falafels

Posted in Beans & Legumes, Dairy Free, Dinner, Lunch, Middle Eastern, Vegetarian

Once you have made these you will not go back to the dried out box variety and your Middle Eastern restaurant may see a drop in business. I could even eat them for breakfast.

Burgers

1 cup dried chickpeas
1 1/2 cups onions, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or vietnamese coriander
1/2 teas baking powder
1 teas ground coriander
1 teas cumin
pinch cayene
1 1/2 teas salt
1/4 teas pepper
1/2 cup flour or chickpea flour
Oil for baking pan

Sauce

1 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
3/4 teas salt
1/2 cup water

Fixins

sliced cucumber, onion, tomato, shredded carrot, sweet bread & butter pickles

Directions

In a medium glass bowl add the chickpeas and cover with cold water and soak for 8 hours or overnight at room temperature. (If your kitchen is warm place the bowl in the fridge to avoid fermentation) Drain and add to food processor. Pulse the chickpeas until they form a chunky paste that sticks together. Do not over process the chickpeas.
Add the onions, garlic, parsley, cilantro, baking powder, coriander, cumin, cayene, salt & pepper and flour. Pulse until the batter is still grainy and speckled with the herbs. Chill at least 1 hour.
While you are waiting make the Tahini Sauce. Add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt and water to the food processor and blend until smooth. If sauce is too thick it can be thinned with additional lemon juice and water.
Preheat oven to 350F
Generously oil a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Remove batter from fridge and shape into patties about 1/4 cup each. If you have an ice cream scoop that holds about 1/4 cup, use that. Drop the patties onto the oiled baking sheet.
Bake 10 minutes on first side. Flip and bake 8 minutes on second side.
Serve in Flour tortillas with all the fixins and the Tahini Sauce.