Baked Falafel

The days of Paul thinking falafel is fahl-awful are over =) 

[This falalfel recipe] has been a happy part of our recipe rotation for months now.

The only thing holding me back from having a weekly falafel-a-thon was that my original recipe was fried to a golden brown.  I have been dying to try a baked version and with mounds of parsley popping up in my garden... it was obviously time to test out some new falafel recipes!

What's in it?

[adapted from this recipe] [makes approx 8 patties]

15oz canned or soaked chickpeas

2 Tbsp flour of your choice

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1-2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt + 1/4 tsp pepper

olive oil (for brushing)

2 fluffy warm pitas or wraps

Customize your toppings!

red or white onions

crunchy greens

crumbled feta

cucumbers

tomatoes

YUMMUS

bell peppers

broccoli slaw

mint +/or parsley

P&C's Tzatziki Sauce

(makes one heaping cup of sauce)

3/4 cup of plain yogurt, greek or regular

1/2 large cucumber seeded, peeled, and diced/minced

1/4 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, minced + smushed

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

a small sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper

dried minced onions, dried dill, and garlic powder, to taste

This sauce is AMAZING! It also makes a baller topping for baked potatoes

Especially on [ Samosa Stuffed Potatoes ]

In. Sane.

If you don't have yogurt for the tzatziki sauce, or if you're a little scared to try it (hey it happens!) you can certainly subsitute a light ranch dressing.  But if you can, try the tzatziki!  If you're dairy free, try whipping up a fun hummus sauce to drizzle over the falafel.  You kids are creative, I know you've got a ton of tricks up your sleeves for such occasions =)

Get Cooking!

Preheat oven to 400F. Whip out your handy dandy food processor + toss in chickpeas, flour, parsley, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt + pepper.  Pulse until blended + flatten into balls/discs with hands.  Brush each patty with olive oil and bake on a greased baking pan for 20 minutes.  This recipe takes maybe 25 minutes max.  So Easy!

So... How was it? 

WAY easier (and healthier!) than the fried version! Though utterly flavorful and crispy, they lacked the super moist center of my fried falafel recipe, so they were a tad dry to eat on a bed of greens like I had originally intended.  Enter a warm fluffy wrap (or pita!) and a generous dollop of greek yogurt cucumber sauce and I didn't miss my fried patties anymore!  What a wrap!  I'll probably continue to tweak and toy with this baked recipe (adding onions + lemon juice to the patty sounds like a good next step to me!)  because it's just so tasty and easy not to eat again! =)  P and I agreed it will be on our plates again very soon.  Maybe as Mediterranean sliders? Yum!

Reader Review!

Emily blogs over at  Write Twenty Eleven - Thanks girl!

The day I whipped these up, I was out of tomatoes and onion.

Obviously that means I need to go grocery shopping and make these again.

After all, they deserve it =)

Do you make your own veggie/legume patties at home?

What are some of your go-to ingredients?