On Saturday, February 11 we’re hosting a Valentine’s dinner for dear friends; the husband who recently turned vegetarian (he eats fish, but not meat) so when I saw Manu’s recipe for Falafel I was excited. I thought this relatively simple middle eastern dish could easily be turned into an upscale appetizer (I was thinking Falafel Sliders!). But the Falafel, foiled me and the first batch turned out to be hard as hockey pucks (the squirrels love them!) but I emailed Manu and she was kind enough to offer me some advice. I originally used dry chickpeas and they were old, so quite likely, they never reconstituted well enough. My second and very tasty batch was made from canned chickpeas and I am happy to report that they had enough moisture in them to make this a very tasty treat! I’m serving them as sliders in mini pita pockets with an avocado paste and the lemon yogurt sauce.
You’ll have to excuse the photos, I’m working sans daylight (believe it or not, it’s pitch dark outside!), having to keep the lens open for a really long time (even with the tripod, it’s still not that focused!).
I made a few alterations to the recipe because I wanted them gluten free so I could serve them to my GF friends.
Gluten Free Falafel (adapted from Manu’s Menu)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained (Manu suggests you dry them well, but I found the mix a little too dry)
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp minced or crushed garlic
- 1 bunch fresh coriander leaves, chopped
- 1 small red onion, chopped fine
- 1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup almond flour + some for rolling the falafel in
Directions:
- Pre heat the oven to 400°F.
- Put everything into a food processor and process until you get a fine paste.
- Take about a golf-ball sized patty and roll lightly in the almond flour until coated, flatten to about 1.5 cm high.
- On a parchment lined cookie sheet, spray generously with non-stick spray.
- Place each falafel about 2 cm from eachother.
- Spray the falafel tops generously with EVOO.
- Bake until the tops are nice and golden — about 18-20 minutes
[…] Falafel on greens with avocado paste and cilantro ‘pesto’ (from Manu’s Menu, […]
LikeLike
Where did the time fly?? I saw this post immediately when you published it and thought I would come later during the day to comment on it and it has been 6 days already!!! Of course having 2 sick children at home did not help… LOL
I LOVE the way you served the falafel! And I also love your pictures. I already told you… but here goes again: I am really happy you made them and liked them and I think making them GF is a very good idea! Now I just hope your guests like them too! ❤
Have a great day Eva!
LikeLike
Thanks for your kind words Manu, hope your family is well onto the road of recovery. I brought a bad cold back with me from Morocco, but I seem to have licked it; and fortunately JT didn’t catch it. I am going to serve the falafel patties on Saturday as part of my vegetarian Valentine’s feast. I’m sure they will love them. I will prepare a wonderful avocado paste (just a creamy version of guacamole) and a cilantro pesto drizzle which will really make the falafel flavours pop. And it will be beautiful too. Because I am serving at least 6 courses, I have decided not to have the pita pockets as sliders, just so we can pace ourselves for the feast. Thanks again for your encouragement and suggestions.
LikeLike
Manu is so nice…and has such yummy recipes! I bet your friend loved these…I know I would!
LikeLike
Thanks Liz; we’re having them for a Valentine dinner party next week. I’m hoping they will love them.
LikeLike
Wonder if I could use cooked chick peas sprouts instead of canned chick peas?
LikeLike
I’m sure you could Norma, just make sure they are not raw, that makes them wire dry.
LikeLike
Like your recipe very much. I am not into deep frying, so this recipe is just what I need.
LikeLike
Thank you Norma, I’m flattered that you think so.
LikeLike
Hi Eva,
We love falafel in our house, would love to try this. Looks amazing!!!
LikeLike
Thank you kindly Asmita. I’d love to see your recipe too!
LikeLike
Great recipe, so great that they are gluten free too! Using dried chickpeas is so much more fiddly -i much prefer canned (don’t have to wait for them to reconstitute!)
LikeLike
Thanks for visiting Lucy. I’ll check out your blog soon.
LikeLike
Why haven’t I ever made falafel at home Eva? Geez something is wrong with me. It’s great to have a recipe on hand though when I feel motivated.
And I feel your pain with lighten and a camera. I’m still attempting to get things set up correctly here.
LikeLike
It sure is tough, Jed! And I have a professional studio to take tips from… My lens is just so-so though. Sigh!
Thanks about the falafel, it a tasty treat!
LikeLike
Manu is so lovely and I’m glad that the second batch turned out well! 😀
LikeLike
Thank you Lorraine, it really is tasty; and I love Manu’s blog too!
LikeLike
Love these falafel sliders served up with avocado paste and lemon yogurt… sounds heavenly… your friends are in for a treat! I haven’t made falafels in over a year; this is great inspiration. How fun to serve them in pitas too – all dressed up ;).
LikeLike
I’d love your recipe Kelly! Thanks.
LikeLike
I love falafel – your post reminds me that I just HAVE to go back to this falafel place in Paris which serves wonderful pitas, stuffed with falafel, grilled aubergine, salad and a liberal dollop of hummus!
I’ve never heard of almond flour – is it something you grind up yourself or do you buy it?
LikeLike
Hi Charles, we can buy it ready; it’s simply blanched almonds ground to a grainy consistency, more processing would activate the oils and you’d have marcipan!
LikeLike
Ah, no – of course Eva… I know the stuff. I just know it as ground almonds (that’s it, right?). I’ve never known it called almond flour, nor did it ever occur to me that one could use it as thus, but that’s a darn good idea!
LikeLike
I never knew falafel could be gluten free. But this recipe definitely sounds amazing.
LikeLike
Thanks Kay, I made some simple modifications and it seems to have worked out well.
LikeLike
I always loved Falafel but I’ve never make it…..so I will definitely try this one, have a great weekend, katya
LikeLike
Thanks Katya! You’ll have to blog about it!
LikeLike
Falafel is very tasty when done right so I think I’ll let the experts make it and just order it at the restaurant. 🙂 By the way, I did try making them once from scratch using soaked but not cooked chickpeas and they were not successful.
LikeLike
It seems that there is a consensus on using the dry chick peas, Maria, they don’t turn out! I’ll make them again just for something different but I’ll use canned for sure!
LikeLike
Hi Eva–I’m so happy to know I have a place to go now for a good falafel recipe. I used to live in an area with a Middle Eastern bakery and grocery store and similar types of restaurants, but now I don’t. I forgot how much I loved all of that stuff.
– Michael
LikeLike
Thanks Michael, I wonder if we have any Middle Eastern grocery stores in TO? I’ll have to check it out.
LikeLike
I haven’t had falafel in forever. This looks great!
LikeLike
It’s a little like having hummus, but in solid form. I hope you try it and enjoy it.
LikeLike
We have a little Mediterranean place down the street that I go to about every other week which makes good falafel wraps…I crave them, but as is the usual custom, they fry the falafel. I love that yours is baked and your recipe sounds so flavorful. You’re inspiring me to try making these falafel at home!
LikeLike
If you’re not GF Betsy, then please do try Manu’s version as it is more authentic; but we really enjoyed the testers of these, I can hardly wait to serve them!
LikeLike
I’ve not thought about, much less enjoyed a falafel, in years. Now, within 24 hours, I ate a falafel wrap for lunch and have your falafel recipe to read. I wonder if this is some sort of message. Well, no matter. Your recipe sounds delicious!
LikeLike
The universe works in strange and wonderful ways, John. Do you ever notice a word you’ve never heard before and then it keeps coming up again and again. Weird. Thank you for the compliment.
LikeLike
I just recently tried a falafel recipe for the first time and it too called for dried chickpeas, which made for rock hard falafels! I’ll try this one for sure. It looks great!
LikeLike
Hi Michela, apparently the dried kind can be too dry, particularly if they are older. Deep frying would likely make them crispy on the outside and soft in the centre. Next time I make this recipe, I might add a bit of binder like egg whites. I hope the recipe turns out for you. I had to spray my ‘oven fried’ falafel with EVOO to get a bit more of a crust on them (I thought the almond flour would do that on it’s own, but it didn’t)
LikeLike
What a great recipe Eva! Your dinner parties are so creative and sound like so much fun. You’re quite inspirational. 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you kindly Kristy, I’m so flattered by your kind words. I love to cook and my friends like to eat, so it’s a perfect combination!
LikeLike
Before you mentioned your troubles with the photography, I was thinking how lovely the styling was. I think this is a terrific GF recipe. The ingredients are a delicious combination.
LikeLike
Thanks so much Charlie, I’m very flattered.
LikeLike
Thanks Charlie, I’m so flattered that you think so. It turned out very tasty; one day, I’ll make the recipe exactly as Manu described and I’ll deep fry them.
LikeLike