When I was writing my book, Chickpea Flour Does It All, I wanted to include a variety of recipes for kitchen staples that would make weeknight dinners more practical—so that regardless of the time of year, you could always have a go-to meal.
In my own life, I generally make a few go-to staples on Sunday of every week—it makes dinners and Not Sad Desk Lunches much easier to put together.
No-Gadget Falafel (Falafel without a Food Processor)
World's Easiest Falafel and Tzatziki
Take falafel, for instance. Falafel is the perfect compact meal: full of protein, tons of flavor, and, most importantly, can be repurposed into a variety of meals throughout the week. Typically, falafel are made with chickpeas, but this recipe uses toasted, nutty chickpea flour with mung beans and quinoa to form its base instead.
Quinoa and Chickpea Flour Falafel with Romesco Sauce
I like starting the week with a simple falafel plate served with an easy blender romesco sauce and a light salad. And the falafel recipe provides plenty of leftovers for things like falafel tacos, falafel and slaw sliders, falafel toast with fried eggs, and chopped falafel salad.
On Sunday, or at the beginning of the week, start by making:
1 batch of quinoa and chickpea flour falafel (or your other favorite falafel recipe)
1 batch of romesco sauce
A basic vinaigrette
Quinoa and Chickpea Flour Falafel with Romesco Sauce View Recipe
Cucumbers, herbs, red onion, and other salad ingredients
Once you've done that, putting it all together is easy:
1) Falafel tacos
Top warm tortillas with salad greens, falafel, a simple avocado and radish salad, and some chopped cilantro. Then douse the whole thing with tahini sauce.
2) Falafel and slaw sliders
To 1/4 cup of unsweetened Greek or non-dairy yogurt, add 1 tablespoon of the romesco sauce and stir to combine. Spread a good amount of the romesco yogurt on each side of toasted rolls or hamburger buns. Add two or three warm falafel and top with slaw.
3) Falafel toast
Heat a couple of falafel in the oven, then mash onto toast. Top with greens, a fried egg, za’atar, and salt. This is also a good time to use up any extra avocado you may have.
4) Falafel salad
Toss chopped cucumbers, herbs, red onion, leftover radishes or other vegetables with salad greens, then top with some crumbled or cubed falafel. Add a tablespoon or so of leftover tahini sauce to your basic vinaigrette for a creamier dressing.
Plus, now that you're stocked with chickpea flour, there's plenty to do with that, too:
Savory Vegan Chickpea Crêpes With Vegetable Ragout
Chickpea Fettuccine with Harissa, Kale, and Olives
There are three types of falafel--Traditional falafel, baked falafel and lemon falafel. “Where the traditional falafel is the basic fried falafel comprising a mix of chickpeas, onions, garlic, herbs and spices, baked falafels are made using fresh herbs in the chickpea mixture,” says Chef Sati from Ophelia.
The baking soda is meant to be added just 5-15 minutes before frying! If you don't have baking soda, then use baking powder instead. Don't skip this ingredient as it helps your falafel become airy and soft rather than tough and dense.
It's high in protein and fiber from the chickpeas (one cup of which has 15 grams of protein and 14 grams of fiber). Plus, chickpeas contain a lot of iron, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, and B vitamins. The various spices in falafel—like cumin, coriander and cardamom—are also full of disease-fighting antioxidants.
Falafel is made from fava beans or chickpeas, or a combination of both. Falafel is usually made with fava beans in Egyptian cuisine, where it most likely originated, with chickpeas in Palestinian cuisine, or just chickpeas or a combination of both in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria and the wider Middle East.
Falafel was made popular in Israel by Yemeni Jews in the 1950s. They brought with them the chickpea version of the dish from Yemen and introduced the concept of serving falafel balls in pita bread. And the way the Israeli falafel is served is, in my opinion, the main reason why Israeli falafel is truly, well, Israeli.
The origins of the falafel can be traced back to Egypt, which is located between Africa and the Middle East. Egyptians are said to eat falafels every day. In fact, falafels are considered their national dish. Falafels reached North America and Germany in the 20th century.
If the mixture is too wet, the falafel has a tendency to fall apart when being fried so please pat dry the ingredients before using them. If you find the mixture is too wet, simply add little more breadcrumbs. The falafel mixture after prepared can be shaped by hand or with a tool called an alb falafel (falafel mold).
Using dried chickpeas eliminates the need for flour or other binders, giving you falafel that is light and crisp. Letting the falafel dough rest after grinding allows starch to seep out, making it easier for the balls to retain their shape.
Yes, Eating Chickpeas or Hummus bi tahini can cause flatulence. If you'd like to minimize that side effect soak your chickpeas in water with baking soda overnight.
Egyptian Falafel is made with Fava beans, and Syrian Falafel, just like Israeli and Lebanese falafel is made with chick-peas. Jordanian/Palestinian Falafel is made the same way.
In most parts of the Middle East, falafel is made with ground chickpeas. In Egypt however, we make it with dried fava beans. These are best served with pita bread, tomato, onions, and tahini sauce.
Falafel are deep-fried balls or patties made from chickpeas or fava beans, sometimes both, plus fresh herbs and spices. Falafel is a popular Middle Eastern street food sold from vendors or fast-casual spots in countries such as Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Israel, where it's the national dish.
Falafels and gyros are two very different types of food. Falafels are typically made from ground chickpeas or fava beans, while gyros are made from meat cooked on a spit. Falafels are usually served as a vegetarian option, while gyros are typically made with lamb or beef.
Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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