A colourful twist on a traditional Middle Eastern favourite 

This cheeky little chickpea patty is vegan, gluten free and packed full of plant protein and is nutrient dense. Originally enjoyed throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean regions, it is easy to make and tasty to eat! This recipe is designed to make more than you need so that you can freeze half for your next falafel fix! Makes a great quick weeknight meal thrown into a pita pocket or a loaded falafel bowl.

• Gluten free
• Dairy free
• Sugar free
• Vegan/Vegetarian
• Nut free
• Cleanse program friendly

Ingredients:

• 2 cans drained and rinsed chickpeas or about 3 cups, if you cooked them from dry 
• 1 1/2 cups fresh parsley (about 1 bunch)
• 1 large or 2 medium beetroots, cut into smaller pieces
• 5-6 cloves of garlic or more if you like garlic
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 4 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp seas salt
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp chickpea flour

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking pan with parchment.
• Drain and rinse chickpeas shaking off as much water as you can before spreading them out on the baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until they start to dry out just a little.
• Meanwhile, add fresh garlic and lemon juice to high speed blender and pulse.
• Then add parsley and chopped up beetroot and pulse until beet is in fine pieces.
• Add cumin, salt, pepper, tahini and slightly roasted chickpeas and blend until a course paste is formed. Keep some texture, don’t over blend but make sure there are not big chunks of beets or chickpeas remaining either.
• Place contents into a bowl and add chickpea flour and work the flour in evenly. Falafel should form and stick together.
• If making right away, reduce oven temperature to 375F after roasting the chickpeas. Either use the same parchment or replace it with a fresh piece and form the dough into discs and place on baking sheet.
• Bake the falafel 15 minutes then flip them and bake another 10 minutes or until they are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.

If freezing extra falafel, line a baking sheet with parchment and form into discs as you would to bake them but place them in the freezer instead. When they are solidly frozen, transfer them into a bag or container. Remove them from the freezer and cook as directed. They may take a little longer baking from completely frozen.

*Note: If you do not have chickpea flour you could subsitute oat flour, gluten free flour blend or wheat flour for a binder. I have only ever used chickpea flour, though.

Now what?

Wrap your falafels in a pita or create a falafel bowl with any or all of the following ingredients:

• Hummus like this Roasted Garlic and Chilli Hummus or this Lemony Beetroot Hummus.
• Tzaziki like this Homemade Yogurt and Cucumber Tzaziki Dip.
• Grated carrots
• chopped green onions
• Sliced cucumber
• cherrie or sliced tomatoes
• Sliced bell peppers
• Cilantro
• Mixed greens
• Pickled red onions like this Refrigerator Red Onion Pickles recipe.
• Crumbled feta
• Olives

This falafel recipe is a great recipe on my cleanse program as it contains no grain flour, dairy or sugar and is a whole plant protein source. Have you thought about trying a cleanse program to reset your eating habits and take a load off your digestive system but don’t know where to start? A health and Wellness Coach can help guide you safely through a cleanse program and support you into healthy eating habits for a life time. Contact me for a free consultation to find out if health and Wellness Coaching is right for you.