Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Falafel Night.

We have falafel night often. It's a reliable and tasty regular in our house. I almost always use the recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance. It's easy, delicious and perfect for weeknights. Sometimes I serve the falafel patties with a side of lemon herb rice and a salad or in a pita like tonight. I did something a little different in preparing the chickpeas mixture. Instead of using breadcrumbs to bind the mixture, I used some cooked couscous that I had in the fridge. It worked very well.

The ingredients for this recipe has been posted online here. (Note: Olive oil is for frying. It does not go in the chickpea mixture.) To cook them, you just need to fry lightly them in the olive oil until browned or bake in a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes flipping halfway.


Baked, not fried!


In a whole wheat pita with lettuce, tomato and lots of garlicky and creamy cucumber sauce!

Cucumber sauce:
3 TB vegan mayo (or more if you like)
1/2 cup finely chopped cucumber
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Stir to combine all ingredients and chill.


This morning I made a orange, apple, banana and carrot smoothie in my new Breville blender that my dad bought for me! It's only the second or third time I've used it and it's great. I know it's not a Vita-Mix but works very nicely for a less expensive blender.

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7 comments:

  1. veggievixenJanuary 13, 2009 at 9:15 PM

    omg i love falafel! i've only made it once but the chickpea mixture turned out really watery...maybe i will try the version you made next time.

    the baked bbq tofu you inspired me to make from your last post turned out fantastic!

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  2. kmouseJanuary 13, 2009 at 9:50 PM

    The recipe in Vwav never fails me.

    Glad you tried the bbq tofu. It's so good isn't it? I want to make baked tofu again - this time with a different sauce, maybe korean bbq sauce or hot sweet chili sauce?

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  3. Melisser; the Urban HousewifeJanuary 13, 2009 at 10:10 PM

    Mmm, I'm always down for falafel!

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  4. Jen TreehuggerJanuary 15, 2009 at 1:46 AM

    I've not tried that recipe from VWaV. I've always stuck to Rose Elliot's Falafel recipe. But I definitely like the idea of baking them, it's a much healthier option. I will have to check the recipe out. To be honest - I don't even recall there being a Falafel recipe in that book, just goes to show how little attention I pay really!
    And which bar did you pinch that Guinness glass from you naughty little mouse!!

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  5. EricJanuary 15, 2009 at 7:20 AM

    That falafel looks a lot like the garbanzo bean burgers I like to make. They look REALLY tasty. I'm craving falafel now.

    Great blog! I'm adding you to my RSS feeds :)

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  6. DawnJanuary 15, 2009 at 4:45 PM

    I love falafel but haven't a great standard recipe. I usually just throw it together. I'm going to have to try this one.

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  7. VEGAN TICKLESJanuary 15, 2009 at 8:59 PM

    I used to have this blender until I broke it. FYI, make sure after you wash all the parts to put them back correctly, or else when you put liquid in, it will leak from the bottom and completely drench the motor. Mine only lasted 3 months. I finally broke down and bought a Vitamix.

    ReplyDelete