Meatless Monday! Falafel & Arugula Salad

I learned a new recipe and thought I’d share.

Since reducing the intake of animal-based products drastically, I’ve been inspired to discover new dishes for tasty variety and to ensure I am including all the elements my body requires. Falafels have always been one of my favorite non-meat options and luckily for me, I live near a few Mediterranean restaurants that deliver! Nevertheless, I’ve always been interested in venturing a bit more outside of my cultural culinary traditions and experience new cuisines.

So tonight, I attempted Falafel Patties, following this simple recipe:

Ingredients 

• 1 cup dried chickpeas
• 1/2 large onion chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2-1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 tablespoons flour
• Soybean or olive oil for frying

Preparation

1. Put the chickpeas in a large bowl and add enough water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Let it soak overnight
2. Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas, onions, parsley, cilantro, salt, red pepper, garlic, and cumin in a food processor and blend
3. Add the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and blend. Pour the mix into a bowl and refrigerate for 2-4 hours
4. Form the chickpea mixture into little patties
5. Heat oil to 375 degrees in a pan and fry 1 patty to test. Fry a few patties at a time for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Place on paper towels and pat dry. (notes: if the patty falls apart, just add a little more flour to hold it together)

Tonight I put them over arugula and olive oil and topped them with an avocado spread. Ingredients below:

Ingredients

• 2 Hass Avocados
• 1 small cucumber
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 dried red hot pepper

Place all ingredients in food processor and purre.

I’ll be honest, this is a time-consuming process since it requires that you soak the chickpeas overnight, and once you mix all of the ingredients together, you have to refrigerate for a few hours before baking or frying.

But I do promise it’s worth it, even if you make them every other week rather than part of your weekly meal plan. You can always soak the chickpeas on Saturday night, it takes 2 minutes to pour them in a bowl and pour some water over them. Then, on Sunday night, mix the ingredients together in a food processor and refrigerate overnight and cook them on Monday when you get home! Simple!

Enjoy!

 

~ACE