Falafelwithatwist Recipes

FALAFEL WITH A TWIST

Steps:

• Boil two cups of olive oil in a large pot or deep fryer. This should take at least 10 minutes.
• In a food processer, blend the chickpeas until smooth and then put it in a medium sized bowl. Add chopped cilantro, dried parsley, green onions, breadcrumbs and salt, and mix well. Add a little more breadcrumbs if necassary (I say this as in my first attempt to create this I added another heaping tablespoon of breadcrumbs).
• Make falafel balls 3 inches in diameter out of the chickpea mixture, but do not put them immediately into the hot oil. Test the heat of the oil by dropping a 1/4 teaspoon of the mixture; if the oil sizzles then it is ready.
• Drop the balls carefully one by one into the large pot or deep fryer. DO NOT overcrowd the pot or deep fryer or else the temperature of the oil will drop and the falafel balls will not cook at an even rate. It is better to cook them in batches.
• Cook for 5 minutes, and then with a skimming spoon (the ones you use to skin the fat off the stock or soups that you make), take the falafel balls out and put them on a towel to drain off the oil. Let cool completely, as this is served at room temperature. This mixture can make 16 falafel balls.
• In each pita pocket, put three falafel balls. Top them with the hummus, broccoli slaw, diced tomato and roughly grated baby carrots, (this can be done in a food processer, where you pulse 2 or 3 times for 2 seconds each. They should not be finely minced as this is how I like my carrots grated for carrot cake.
• Serve when ready.

SPICY BAKED FALAFEL WITH TZATZIKI

Steps:

• Stir yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, garlic powder, sugar, lemon zest, mint, and dill together in a bowl. Adjust seasonings to taste and refrigerate tzatziki until ready to serve with falafel.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Combine jalapeno peppers, parsley, green onions, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped and fully blended. Scrape mixture down and add chickpeas. Pulse several times until just blended and chickpeas are broken up, but texture is still rough; do not overblend. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
• Add eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, Greek seasoning, cumin, 1/2 tablespoon salt, paprika, pepper, and chili powder to the chickpea mixture. Stir with a spatula until fully incorporated. Add chickpea flour a few tablespoons at a time and stir; the final mixture should be wet, but not falling apart when handled. Place bowl in the freezer, uncovered, to firm up mixture, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and brush with some olive oil.
• Remove chickpea mixture from freezer and form into 20 to 24 small balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Brush falafel with remaining olive oil and sprinkle with remaining salt.
• Bake in the preheated oven until falafel are dry and slightly darker brown in color, about 45 minutes. Turn on the broiler and continue baking until tops are crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Serve with tzatziki.