Falafel with Tahini Yogurt

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.

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Falafel with Tahini Yogurt

Yield: 12 small patties

Ingredients

For the Falafel:

1. 3 cups cooked chickpeas (2 15oz cans), drained and rinsed

2. 1 yellow onion, diced

3. 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

4. ¼ cup fresh parsley

5. ¼ cup fresh cilantro

6. ½ tsp cayenne pepper

7. 1½ tsp ground cumin

8. 1 tsp ground coriander

9. ½ tsp ground cardamom

10. 1 tsp baking powder

11. 1 tsp kosher salt

12. ¼ cup flour (feel free to try chickpea flour here, especially if you want to keep it gluten free)

For the Tahini Yogurt:

1. ¼ cup tahini paste

2. ¾ cup plain greek yogurt

3. 1 clove of garlic, minced

4. ½ cup water

5. juice of 1 lemon

6. salt and pepper

Serve with pita or naan, pickled red onion, lettuce

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

2. Combine all of the falafel ingredients in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not quite a paste.

3. Form into patties – use a ¼ cup measure and gently press into a patty.

4. 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.

5. Place onto a cookie sheet and sauté the second batch if necessary.*

6. Finish cooking the falafel in the oven – about 20 minutes.

7. 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.

3.5.3208

#healthy