"All you need to know for a healthier child...."
You would think because these are baked they would be really dry but they aren't. They taste just as good as the shallow/deep fried ones you normally get however are, obviously, a lot healthier for you.
Healthy Baked Falafels
Place the balls on a lined baking sheet and into the oven for 5-6 minutes. Turn and cook for another 5-6 minutes. They should have taken on a little bit of colour.
I like to stuff mine into some toasted pitta with chargrilled red pepper, salad and tzatziki.
If you really want to add some more goodness to them, I sometimes pop a tablespoon of tahini into the mix to give me a boost in calcium and iron. If you have small children and they find tahini too much of an adult taste you can try tzatziki which works wonderfully too.
Tahini Dressing
2 cloves garlic, grated or pasted
2 tbsp tahini paste
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tablespoons water
Mix everything together and add the water to loosen.
I often add a tablespoon of honey to mine to give it a slightly sweet taste.
Quick Tzatziki
1/2 a cucumber, grated on largest grate
4 large tbsp greek yoghurt
A few sprigs of fresh mint, chopped
Salt and pepper
Grate the cucumber and with your hands squeeze out the excess water.
Place into a bowl and mix in the yoghurt, seasoning and chopped mint.
Stir in your fresh herbs.
Next, roll into balls (and coat them in sesame seeds, if liked).
Makes 10 falafels
Ingredients
1 x 450g tin drained chick peas (approx 225g)
1 clove garlic
1/2 an onion (I have used red as they are slightly sweeter)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp chilli powder or cayenne pepper
2 tbsp gluten-free flour (or regular flour if you don't have this)
Handful of mixed fresh parsley and coriander
Salt and pepper to season
Approx 20g sesame seeds (optional – you need enough to roll your falafels in)
Method
Preheat the over to 190C.
Drain your chickpeas and blitz them in a blender to a paste. Add the spices, onion, garlic, flour, seasoning and mix them all together. Don't blitz for too long as you don't want a mush; you want some texture inside your falafel so this is really just bringing everything together at this point.
These are much healthier because they're baked. You can also try grating half an apple into the mix to give it some sweetness and adding a touch more flour.
