Baked Falafel

So I was surfing around tastespotting (who I have a love hate relationship... they make me so happy when they accept my images... and so sad when they reject them booo. And man I just can't seem to find a rhyme or reason, there was one image I thought they would reject.. nope they took it, then like 3 others I thought were amazing... and they rejected them!! Oh and btw John will only refer to their site as trainspotting hahahaha. I start talking about them and he's like "you mean trainspotting" hehehe at least it cheers me up after they reject me). OK enough of my drama, I came across this image and had to make them. The recipe and image came from Chow Vegan, love love the name! I must admit though... I made them not vegan. My mixture just wasn't coming together at ALL, so I added an egg white. Problem solved!


These came together wicked quick and wrapped up in a pita with some feta, cucumbers, baby spinach, and a dab of hummus and red hot made for a super tasty filling dinner. I love me some falafel but always feel a bit unhappy in my belly due to the serious fried value of them. These were a de-light-ful change up and I'm totally going to make a ton of these, freeze them, and keep them on hand for a quick weeknight treat!

Chow!
Baked Falafel (changed up a bit from Chow Vegan)
Makes about 21 balls

1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans
1 small onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 egg white (stephchows add on)
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 tsp sesame seeds (stephchows add on)
1/2 tsp paprika (stephchows add on)
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Put in a medium sized bowl and smash with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Form into small balls, about 1 1/2″ in diameter and slightly flatten. Place onto an oiled baking pan.

Bake for 15 minutes on each side, until nicely browned (since it’s baked, only the part actually touching the pan will be browned and crispy).

Serve with mini pita pockets, hummus, tahini sauce, tomatoes, lettuce and/or cucumber.