Baked Falafel

In the words of novelist Roald Dahl, "we all have our moments of brilliance and glory, and this was mine." Definitely one of the tastiest things you can do with chickpeas, falafel is one of my favorite foods of all time. It's a traditional middle-eastern street food made from chickpeas and spices, deep fried and served with tzatziki sauce wrapped in pita bread. I know, right?  But there is a certain amount of guilt that accompanies any dish that has been fried, so I decided to invest some time in perfecting a lighter falafel. I tried mixes, pan-searing, browning the patties in a skillet before finishing them the oven, even a version where I skipped cooked chickpeas and just soaked dry chickpeas in water and baking soda. At the end of the day, the easiest methods turned out the best quality product. Now that's my kind of cooking!

Chickpeas are an excellent source of protein, fiber and iron, making them an ideal meat substitute and a balanced source of nutrition in any weight loss plan. Obviously a deep fried delicacy doesn't sound like a weight loss food, so I have revised this recipe to slash the extra fat by baking rather than frying. I'll admit it's not as crisp as fried versions, but I'll take guilt-free falafel over fried falafel any day. Other baked falafel recipes call for pureeing the chickpeas into a paste and then thicken that mixture with added flour, giving you a mushy hummus croquette. Gross. This recipe retains some of the firm texture of the chickpeas for a falafel that tastes like good falafel should. I did use both egg and bread to help bind the mixture during baking, but you could get by with skipping both of those ingredients and adding a little extra oil to help hold the patties together during baking for a gluten-free and/or vegan version.

There's several different ways to serve falafel. My personal favorite is as a traditional pita sandwich with fresh tzatziki and veggies, but you can serve this plain with a dipping sauce like tahini. I use canned chickpeas for convenience, making these very easy to pull together after a long day of work or school. This recipe does make a lot of falafel, but I like having leftovers around for quick lunches the rest of the week. Whether you know and love this dish like I do or if you're feeling a bit skeptical of my enthusiasm, it's time for you to fall for falafel, guilt-free of course. Enjoy!

Baked Falafel, Serves 8
2 cans chickpeas
2 slices soft bread
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
4 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. coriander
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 pinch pepper
1 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
2 T. olive oil
2 T. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mash chickpeas until well smashed. Using a food processor, process bread into fine crumbs and add to chickpeas (or substitute 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs or crushed tortilla chips). Stir in remaining ingredients until well combined. Shape into small patties and place onto a greased baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes turning halfway through baking. Serve on warm pita bread with fresh tzatziki sauce.