One of the more deliciously healthy things i’ve made lately. I was inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipe in his cookbook, Jerusalem – which I find myself leafing through quite often, mesmerized by the pictures, my stomach growling by the end. I chose not to fry the falafel really out of laziness. There is not much I hate more than frying, grease splattering everywhere (so right there I am already going to have to clean my stovetop as well) and it has to be done last minute. I prefer recipes that allow me to get the kitchen in order before I put myself into a food coma.
The tahini yogurt is fabulous on just about everything, trust me.
Falafel with Tahini Yogurt
Yield: 12 small patties
Ingredients
For the Falafel:
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas (2 15oz cans), drained and rinsed
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ cup flour (feel free to try chickpea flour here, especially if you want to keep it gluten free)
For the Tahini Yogurt:
- ¼ cup tahini paste
- ¾ cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- ½ cup water
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper
Serve with pita or naan, pickled red onion, lettuce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
- Combine all of the falafel ingredients in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not quite a paste.
- Form into patties – use a ¼ cup measure and gently press into a patty.
- Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick pan and sauté falafel 3-4 minutes on either side, until golden brown – don’t crowd them in the pan, it will probably take two batches.
- Place onto a cookie sheet and sauté the second batch if necessary.*
- Finish cooking the falafel in the oven – about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the tahini yogurt: combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together (be patient here and whisk slowly or you will end up with lemon juice all over the place).
Notes
*you can freeze the patties at this point – freeze in a single layer, not touching and once frozen place in a ziploc bag. Thaw in fridge or on counter and cook in 400˚F oven for 20 minutes.
Ohhh this looks fantastic! Making it as soon as I can – love that you baked them instead! Great photos as well :)
Yum, can't wait to make & eat! xo
I'm making this one and I'm loving your website!!!
Made this recipe and Tim and I loved it!