Baked Falafel?

Booty Camp Fitness sends out a recipe of the day. Today I received one that peaked my interest: Baked Falafel.

I have to admit, I’ve never had a ‘real’ falafel, but based on the ingredients… I knew I’d like it.

15 1/2 oz canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, or cilantro, fresh, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp tahini
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp water
4 whole wheat pitas
lettuce
Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Combine chickpeas, onion, parsley, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt and baking soda in a food processor or blender. Process until mixture is coarsely pureed and transfer to large bowl. Stir in flour; shape mixture into 4 patties and let stand for 15 minutes.
Spray a large ovenproof skillet with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat (if you don't have an ovenproof skillet, make sure to cover the handle of your skillet with aluminum foil before heating). Add patties and cook until golden brown, flipping once, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer pan to oven and bake 10 minutes.
Whisk together tahini, lemon juice, and water.
To assemble sandwiches, place 2 lettuce leaves inside each pita, add 1 falafel patty and drizzle with 1 tablespoon tahini dressing. Serves 4.

I didn’t exactly read the directions properly when I did the prep. I ended up putting everything into the food processor. My patties were more like a hummus texture, so I added some more ground chickpeas to firm it up a little bit! The flavour was spot on though!

I didn’t really care for the tahini dressing though. Next time I think I’d add some tzatziki instead. All in all though, a great meal!

The end result: 

I did well today. Food was spot on.

Exercise was low intensity, but better then sitting on the couch. My good running shoes were still soaked from last nights workout so I used a pair of my old runners and hit the streets with Jersey in tow for 1.5 hours. Weee!

Have a great night!