Gluten Free Falafel adapted from Manu’s Menu

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.

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:

1. Pre heat the oven to 400°F.
2. Put everything into a food processor and process until you get a fine paste.
3. Take about a golf-ball sized patty and roll lightly in the almond flour until coated, flatten to about 1.5 cm high.
4. On a parchment lined cookie sheet, spray generously with non-stick spray.
5. Place each falafel about 2 cm from eachother.
6. Spray the falafel tops generously with EVOO.
7. Bake until the tops are nice and golden — about 18-20 minutes

YUM, is there any more?

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