Baked Brazil Nut & Fresh Herbs Falafel

I remember the first time I had falafels. It was love at first bite.

The taste, the texture, it was all just so so yummy!

It’s a staple in a vegetarian diet, as it’s made from chickpeas and contains no meat or dairy. Unfortunately, these delicious babies are usually fried, which makes them go from hero to zero.

Not on my watch though! These are baked instead of fried, completely gluten free, and still achieve that delicious crunchy exterior while retaining all the flavour (and none of the grease).

To make 18 falafels, you will need:

For the Falafel
3 tbsp fresh parsley
2 tbsp fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
2 shallots
200g brazil nuts
2 cups cooked chickpeas (can be canned as well)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp buckwheat flour
1 tsp zaatar
1 tsp baking powder

For the Tahini Sauce
1 tbsp of tahini
Half a lime
1 tbsp olive oil
Sprinkle of salt & pepper

Let’s make it baby!

Pre-heat oven to 200ºC

Start by adding your herbs, garlic, and shallots to a food processor. Blend until everything is finely chopped. Then add in your brazil nuts and pulse again until nuts are broken down into small pieces.

Add in your chickpeas and the rest of the ingredients into the processor and pulse, scraping down the sides when you have to. You don’t want to over-blend, as we still want the falafels to have some bits and texture.

Use your hands to make the falafel balls and place them on a baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, turning them ever so often so they bake and brown evenly.

For the tahini sauce, simply mix all the ingredients in a bowl! Simple and easy!

When they’re nice and crunchy on the outside, remove from the oven and serve with some lettuce, some shaved crunchy carrots and beetroots, the tahini sauce, some seeds, and some delicious sprouts!

Recipe inspired by Green Kitchen Stories! They are an sweet family with a food blog, check them out when you have a minute!

This falafel is full of goodness. You’ve got the brazil nuts for selenium (amazing for that thyroid of yours!), the sprouts for some live foods, the tahini for some healthy fats and phosphorous, and the raw veggies for awesome fiber, vitamins, and minerals!

You’ll never want the icky fried stuff again!