Baked Falafel and Vegan Tzatziki Sauce!

Brett and I love trying out foods from all different parts of the world. We'd so much rather eat at a new Indian restaurant or slurp up a big bowl of Pho than eat plain ol' meat at potatoes. It must be all the traveling we've done. Good thing is were walking distance from a bunch of restaurants serving food from all over the world. 

Sometimes though, my frugal nature wants to save money instead of eating out. Thankfully there are now tons of recipes available on the internet for almost any kind of cuisine. So the other day when I was craving some Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food I was able to find a falafel recipe and a vegan tzatziki sauce recipe online, both of which were winners. Now I want to share them with you!

The tzatziki recipe isn't my own and for the falafel I just made a few changes to this recipe that I found on the food network website. The last time I tried making baked falafel they didn't hold together well and never really cooked all the way through. The recipe I used this time had only five star reviews and called for an egg (I used a flax egg) and flour. I knew the flaxseed and flour would help bind all the ingredients together. This recipe is a keeper!

Baked Falafel

(Makes 15 patties)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped parsley
• 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• salt to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour

Directions:

1. Prepare your flax egg by whisking together 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water. Set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
2. In a food processor, pulse to combine the chickpeas, onion, garlic, spices, parsley, flax egg, lemon juice and salt to taste. Don't pulse too much that a puree forms, but you don't want there to be large chunks either (see picture below).
3. Sprinkle the baking powder and flour overtop of the chickpea mixture and pulse a few more times just until everything is combined. 
4. Pour the chickpea mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
6. Remove the chickpea mixture from the fridge and form 15 patties using about 2 tablespoons of mixture for each patty. I like to roll 2 tablespoons of the chickpea mixture into a firm ball and then slightly flatten it into a patty. 
7. Place the patties on your prepared baking dish. They don't expand while baking so don't worry if they are close together.
8. Bake the patties for 13 minutes, flip them over and then bake for 15 more minutes until both sides of the patties are browned.
9. Serve in pita with hummus and veggies or on top of a big bed of lettuce with my favorite Sweet Tahini Dressing!

In the next week I'll be posting my favorite flat bread recipe. The flat bread is what we ate our falafel and tzatziki on the first night. It was a delicious combination. Check back for the recipe soon!

Another great addition to baked falafel is this Vegan Tzatziki Sauce! I found the recipe on Food.com and was really happy with how it turned out. Instead of using yogurt as the main ingredient, it's made with silken tofu. It makes a ton so you can enjoy it all week long! I've even used it as a salad dressing.

What's your favorite kind of food? 

Do you like to try out new foods or stick with what's familiar?

Eat Consciously,

Faith