ecoPharmacist

Gluten Free Falafel

As you can tell, I had food on the brain today! I woke up early and got to work making buttermilk pancakes and then ran a ton of errands…aka kids to their various activities! Then my eldest had a friend over who is vegetarian, so I had to start brain storming what would be a good snack to serve. We love foods from all over the world, and the more I can convert gluten free or are already gluten free, it just makes my life very happy! So for Andy, the gluten free falafel wheels started turning! They turned out super good, and will be a good addition to the lunch box menu! Hope you love them as much as we did!

Gluten Free Vegan Falafel

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley (or sub cilantro)

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 shallots, minced

2 Tbsp (17 g) raw sesame seeds (or sub finely chopped nuts, such as pecans)

1 1/2 tsp cumin, plus more to taste

1 tsp ground coriander

1 pinch of cardamom

1/4 tsp each sea salt and black pepper, plus more to taste

3-4 Tbsp all purpose glute free flour

3-4 Tbsp cooking oil (I like coconut oil, but any high heat oil will work)

Place chickpeas, parsley, shallot, garlic, sesame seeds, cumin, cardamom, coriander, salt, pepper to food processor or blender and mix/pulse to combine, scraping down sides as needed until thoroughly combined. You don’t want dough, the mixture should be crumbly.

Next add the gluten free flour 1 Tablespoon at a time and pulse to combine until no longer wet and you can mold the dough into a ball without it sticking to your hands.

Transfer to a mixing bowl, cover and refrigerate mixture for abut an 1 hour to let it firm up. Once chilled and firm, scoop out rounded tablespoons and then form them into 11-12 small discs.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add enough oil to generously coat the pan – about 2 tablespoons, swirling the pan to coat it in oil. Once the oil is hot, add only as many falafel as will fit very comfortably in the pan at a time – about 5. Adding too many falafel discs will cause the oil temperature to drop, resulting in soggy, oil soaked falafel discs! Nasty!

Cook the falafel for a total of about 4-5 minutes, flipping when the underside is deep golden brown. Repeat this until all of the falafel are browned. They will also firm up more once slightly cooled.

My favorite way to serve falafel is in a traditional way. Well, at least its traditional to me. The first time I had falafel was at a restaurant called Al Amir in downtown Portland, OR. I went there with my friend Brandy and fell in love with the falafel! So back to my serving technique…on top of hummus, drizzled in tahini, maybe throw some raw carrots or veggies of choice. A delicious memory I can re-create as I please!