Baked Falafel & Tahini Sauce

Lacey, here!

I've been meaning, for years, to try homemade Falafel. And tonight was the night.

Falafel

Ingredients:

1 can garbanzo beans (rinsed & drained)

1 Tbsp EV Olive Oil

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon dill weed

1 small onion, quartered

1/3 cup parsley leaves

3 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon baking powder (optional, but it makes them fluffy)

dash of salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place all items in food processor. Process for 10 seconds.

Scrape down the sides and then pulse about 10 times, or until it's the consistency you'd like. Some like little chunks, some like it smoother.

Form your batter into ping-pong sized balls. Press down a bit if you want patties.

Bake for 20 minutes, flip, bake another 20 minutes. Ta-da! (I know these are traditionally fried, but we don't need that!! Bake at a high temperature for a crispy outside!)

Tahini Sauce

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Tahini
2 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp coconut water (or regular water)
1 small tomato, diced
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
1 small dill pickle, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced and then mashed into a paste
Dash of paprika

 Diretions:
Place tahini in bowl. Add in lemon juice and stir with fork until blended into paste.

Slowly add in coconut water. Stir, stir, stir.
Add in remaining ingredients.

The finished product. I'm quite proud of it! The falafel was a great consistency. I'd love to try out some other sauces in the future! Maybe some peanut butter based sauce. Mmmm.

The final meal included spaghetti squash with a Thai seasoned carrot/onion/tomato topping.

I hope this encourages you to try out new meals that may seem intimidating. I really regret not making Falafel sooner!!