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Falafel Bowl

Falafel Bowl
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5 from 2 reviews

This falafel bowl recipe makes a delicious Mediterranean-inspired meal with baked falafel, hummus, and crispy vegetables. Perfect for meal prep, it’s a satisfying and healthy vegan dinner or lunch!

Ingredients

Scale

For the Falafel Bowl

  • 1 recipe Baked Falafel (recipe below; or purchased falafel), plus leftover cilantro to garnish
  • 1 handful Pickled Cucumber and Onions, plus leftover sliced English cucumber
  • 1 dollop hummus (purchased)
  • 1 handful sliced or chopped tomatoes
  • 1 handful olives
  • 1 handful baby arugula
  • Feta (optional; or vegan feta)
  • Olive oil, to drizzle
  • Sumac (optional)

Baked Falafel

  • 15-ounce can chickpeas
  • 1/2 cup Old Fashioned rolled oats (or use 1/2 cup oat flour)
  • 1/4 cup red onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1/2 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, loosely packed (or fresh parsley)
  • 2 tablespoons tahini
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Make the Pickled Cucumbers and Onions: Start the Pickled Cucumbers and Onions, which take 30 minutes to pickle (or make in advance). Alternatively, you can use fresh sliced cucumber and red onion.
  2. Make the Baked Falafel: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Dab the chickpeas with a paper towel to remove extra moisture and set them aside. Place the rolled oats in a bowl of a food processor. Process 30 seconds to 1 minute until they are the texture of flour. Pour into a separate bowl and set aside. (If using oat flour, skip this step.) 
  3. Roughly chop the red onion and peel the garlic. Place them into the food processor with the cilantro and pulse until finely minced, stopping and scraping down the bowl once. Add the chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, cumin, coriander, baking powder, salt and pepper and process until combined, stopping and scraping the bowl once. Then add the oats and pulse until a uniform dough forms. (Try not to over-process the dough: you’ll want it uniform and shape-able with a little texture.)  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  4. Use your hands to roll the dough into 16 balls that are 1 ½ tablespoons each, then flatten them into discs (it’s helpful to use a size 40 cookie scoop, if you have it). Place the discs on the baking sheet and brush the tops with olive oil. Bake the falafel for 15 minutes until golden brown, then flip. Brush the tops with more olive oil. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown on the other side. Allow to cool at least 5 minutes before eating. (Refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months; consider making a double batch and storing leftovers.)
  5. Make the Falafel Bowl: To make the bowl, add a generous handful baby arugula and dollop of hummus to a shallow bowl. Surround with handfuls tomatoes, pickled cucumbers and onions, fresh cucumber (left over from the pickled recipe), olives, and feta cheese (if using). Add the falafel to the bowl and drizzle with olive oil. If desired, sprinkle with sumac. 

Notes

Serving suggestions: To make this falafel bowl more filling, you can serve with a grain like rice, farro, quinoa, couscous, Israeli couscous, or bulgur. This quinoa tabbouleh would also pair perfectly! Pita wedges or pita chips make an easy pairing.

Other sauces: Creamy hummus is important for bringing the bowl together. If you don’t use it, consider a sauce like tzatziki sauce, tahini sauce, or cilantro sauce.

Find it online: https://www.acouplecooks.com/falafel-bowl/