These falafels are the perfect addition to salads, pitas, and wraps and will be the star of any lunchbox meal or light lunch. They are quick to make and packed full of flavour. You simply can’t go wrong with them!
I love falafels. I always used to buy them at the supermarket and throw them on nourishing bowls, salads and so on. Then I went to Germany on my year abroad and tried proper Turkish falafels and BOOM, my life changed. I could not go back to store-bought anymore with the same enthusiasm I once had. Nowadays I get store-bought ones when I am on a pinch or want a last-minute salad, but I always regret it both for taste (which is rather disappointing) and for the staggering price these chickpea balls are sold for. So I have been experimenting on my own with falafels and their variations, and whilst I make some pretty mean traditional falafels, I have also been trying out different flavour combinations.
Now, I know what many people are going to say. These are not authentic falafels and maybe I should avoid calling them as such. I share this feeling with sympathy, as I see way too often Frankenstein versions of pastas and pizzas which are labelled as Italian food and which are not all authentic to an Italian person. However, I can’t really find an alternative name for these veggie balls (you see, just not the same effect) and I empathise more than ever with people who can’t find alternatives names to butchered versions of authentic meals from different culture. The struggle is real. So yes, I AM going to call these falafels (sorry!), but I am also going to make it plain and clear that these are not traditional and they are only inspired by the amazing, perfect, chickpea falafels we all love and cherish.
Ok so now I can tell you a bit more about these amazing falafels. These are one of my favourite variations. Along with the usual suspects - chickpeas, cumin, red onion and fresh parsley -, I add some lovely sun-dried tomatoes (as the title of this recipe hints), some tomato paste, and some balsamic vinegar, along with some extra spices like smoked paprika and chilli powder. The result is an amazingly flavourful falafel which is so aromatic but at the same time not too hot. They are just perfect. They are also on the healthier side, as I bake them rather than frying them. That being said, feel free to fry them in a pan with a splash of oil, if that’s what you prefer. They will work just as well.
I also love them because they take such little time to make. If you are a fan of meal prepping, these are really going to become your best friends: they keep in the fridge for five days, they are healthy, totally versatile, and you can whip them together and bake in about 35 minutes. Plus, whilst they bake you can make a start on the rest of your meal prep by chopping veggies, or cooking your grains. Washing up is minimal too. You see what I mean? They an all-round winner.
I usually make a big batch of these falafels at the beginning of the week and use them in different combinations every day. Normally, I pair them with a nice spinach salad, along with some roasted sweet potatoes and carrots, and half an avocado. But they work well with curried rice, steamed quinoa, or stuffed in pitas or wraps (with a generous dollop of hummus and all your favourite trimming). The moral of the story is: no matter what type of food you choose to accompany these falafels with, they will always transform it and elevate it. This is again particularly handy if you meal prep but don’t particularly enjoy eating the same foods five days a week: by mixing them with different grains, starches or salad you will introduce more variety in your meal plan and you won’t feel sick of it at the end of the week.
Ingredients:
Makes 12-14 falafels
1 can of chickpeas
½ red onion
A bunch of fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp coriander
½ tso smoked paprika
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp chilli powder (less if you are not a fan of the heat)
About 5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil*
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt
*if your sun-dried tomatoes are not in oil, place them in a cup and cover with hot water for about 20 mins before chopping them.
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Finely chop ½ red onion and 2 garlic cloves. Roughly chop the parsley and the sun-dried tomatoes.
In a food processor add all the ingredients together and blend until you get a rough paste. You don’t want hummus so don’t let the mixture mush too much. If you don’t own a blender you can simply mush everything with a fork, cut the sun-dried tomatoes more finely, and then mix everything with a spoon.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and shape small balls of the dough with your hands (you can also use an ice-cream scoop but it will make fewer, bigger falafels). You should have between 12 and 14 falafels.
Place them on a baking tray with some parchment paper and bake for about 22 – 25 minutes. When they are done baking, remove them from the heat. You won’t find them very hard when you first take them out of the oven but don’t be tempted to put them back in: they will get very dry and quite unpleasant to eat. Instead, you will see that as they cool down, they harden slightly and hold their shape better.
Serve them over salads, rice, nourishing bowl or stuff them in sandwiches and pitas!
These falafels can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days and frozen for up to 2 months.
Enjoy!
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