Baked Falafel
I was watching Food Network the other day, and Ellie Kreiger sparked my interest with her unique version of baked falafel. Now, I have never tasted falafel before, (let alone prepared it) but Ellie made it look rather easy, and I was inspired to try a version of my own. How can you go wrong with chickpeas, veggies and pita? I don’t think you can…
After reading through Ellie’s recipe, and then searching for some different variations at Allrecipes, I came up with my own version. Full disclaimer, I have never eaten an authentic fried falafel before, so I have nothing on which to base my baked version. Nonetheless, I was pleasantly pleased with the flavorful result. I hope you enjoy!
Baked Falafal
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
Falafel:
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup onion – minced
- 2 garlic cloves – minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil – divided
- 1 egg white
- 2 tablespoons flour – (I used whole wheat)
Salad:
- 1 cup romaine lettuce – chopped
- 1 roma tomato – diced
- 1/2 cucumber – peeled, seeded and diced
- 1/4 cup tzatziki sauce – plus more for drizzling
- 2 pitas – warmed slightly to make more pliable.
- 2 squares of tinfoil – optional, but makes eating the falafel much easier
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Combine all falafel ingredients, except for one tablespoon of the olive oil, in a large food processor and pulse 6-7 times.
- Scrape down sides and pulse an additional few times. You want all the ingredients well combined, but the mixture should still be coarse and grainy.
- Using light hands, form mixture into 12 balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
- Brush the remaining tablespoon of olive oil on the tops of the falafel balls. (You could probably spray with cooking spray as well, though I did not try this.)
- Place falafel in the oven for 10 minutes, flip the balls over, and continue cooking an additional 10 minutes, or until falafel are crisp and brown.
- Spread roughly 2 tablespoons of tzatziki on each pita bread, top with 6 falafel balls and desired amount of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Pita will be VERY full. Drizzle with additional tzatziki, if desired.
- Place pita laying flat on the tin foil square, and use foil to help wrap the pita around the filling.
- Serve and enjoy!