Moroccan Plant-Based Feast Pt.1: Falafel

falafel photo

This is part one of a healthy, plant-based Moroccan Summer feast recipe. While teaching, massaging and cooking out in Ibiza at the very beautiful Samskara Retreat Centre recently, I cooked this for 9 people. The whole dish – including the tajine, falafel and cous cous – takes about 1 ½ hours, so I’d recommend putting on some music, and even pouring a glass of your favourite drink to keep you company while you cook!

This is a great meal to make for a gathering, it’s suitable for lovely long lazy Summer meals and cosy warm winter dishes too. With plenty of flavour and healthy ingredients, it’s a meal worth taking time over and making again and again so you can adapt and change things depending on the flavours and amount of spice you and your guests enjoy the most.

Part 1 is falafel, which is often eaten with salad, in a wrap, as a snack by itself, or with hummus.

Ingredients (feeds 6-8)

  • 1 small handful fresh parsley
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • ½ cup oats
  • 1 handful nuts (walnuts or cashews work well)
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp coconut oil

How To

  • Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender and pulse until everything is well combined and begins to stick together. Ensure there are still a few chunky pieces to give the falafels a varied texture.
  • Scoop out the mixture and gently use your hands to form them into small balls, the size of each will depend upon how many you want to make per person. I would recommend 2-3 falafels each. If you have a lot of mouths to feed, simply make the falafels a little smaller.
  • If you’re preparing other food for the meal or you have something else to do, then leave them to set in the fridge while you prepare the other ingredients. If you need to cook them straight away then they’ll still work perfectly.
  • When it’s time to cook the falafels, preheat the oven to 180C, add your coconut oil to a shallow pan and fry the falafels for 3-4 minutes on each side, which will make them crispier on the outside and soft in the middle. (Tip: to make the falafels crispier, roll them in corn flour or corn starch beforehand)
  • After frying, place the falafels in the oven to finish off for about 10-15 minutes
  • Serve with this hummus recipe:

Easiest Hummus In The World

Simply blend a can of chickpeas, a big glug of good quality oil (Olive oil, hemp oil, walnut oil, avocado oil etc, or a combination), and a good pinch of quality salt! You’ll be surprised how tasty this hummus is, and you’ll even save yourself the garlic breath too….

 

Recipe for the Moroccan Plant-Based Tajine & Lemon and Date Cous Cous coming soon….

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