Lemon Zest Falafels

Here is one of the recipes I presented during Montreal Vegan Festival 2018. The theme was "How to cook chickpeas: Sweet and Savoury ways".

This is the savoury way, a falafel recipe that matches my criteria : Easy. Healthy. Tasty.

While my recipe is slightly different from traditional falafels, the taste is not sacrificed at all and the advantage is that you can use canned chickpea, so no planning ahead necessary.

This recipe is great because it's super versatile, you can use these falafels in a pita, on top of a salad, of a buddha bowl, with a side of grilled veggies, you can form one big falafel and turn it into a burger patty etc. It's a good recipe for newly vegans or non-vegans!

I'm also giving you a super easy tahini dip recipe that complimentes well the taste and texture of the falafels.

I usually make double or triple batches of these and freeze for later. It's the perfect addition to a lunch since you can pop them frozen in your lunch box in the morning and they will be ready for lunch time. I also have a Easy Lentil Balls recipe that follows the same principle, you can check it out here.

Let's cook!

Serving: Approx. 10-12 falafels balls

Time: 10 minutes to prep and 10 to 25 minutes to cook (depending if you use a pan or oven)

INGREDIENTS

For the Falafels

• 1 1⁄2 cup of cooked chickpeas

• 2 shallots (or oignons), chopped

• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

• Coconut oil (or other heat resisting oil)

• 1⁄3 cup parsley (coriander would also work, or a mix of both)

• 2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

• 1/2 lemon, zest only

• 1 heaping tsp cumin, grounded

• 1/2 tsp coriander, grounded

• 1⁄2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• 2-3 tbsp flour of your choice (I used chickpea flour for a gluten-free version)

For the tahini dip

• 1/4 cup tahini (sesame seeds paste)

• 1/4 cup water (or until desired consistency)

• 1/2 lemon, juice only

• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• Salt and Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Saute the shallots and garlic in coconut oil until golden brown;

2. Put all the ingredients except the flour into your food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped but not like a dough;

3. Then add the flour 1 tablespoon at the time until the mixture can hold into balls (you might need more flour if you are using canned chickpeas vs cooked from dry ones);

4. Taste and adjust seasonings according to your preferences (salt, lemon zest, cumin etc);

5. At that stage, if you have time, I recommend you refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour to make the falafels even easier to roll;

6. Roll your falafels into 10-12 discs using a heaping tablespoon;

You can now choose to cook them in a pan or in your oven :

PAN

7. Preheat 2 tbsp of coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat, place your discs and cook until each side is golden brown and crusty;

or

OVEN

7. Preheat your oven at 375°F, coat the falafels with coconut oil using a brush and cook for 25 minutes or until golden brown, filling them half way trough cooking ;

8. Whip the tahini sauce by mixing together all of the ingredients and serve the falafels warm with a drizzle of sauce on top;

Bon Appétit!

@Veganmontreal