Make this Tonight: Falafel Burgers with Tahini Sauce
By Claire Georgiou, Reboot Naturopath, B.HSc ND
Falafel is such a healthy and delicious meal and very easy to prepare (and no, you don’t have to deep fry it!). This can be an easy light lunch or a full meal with an additional salad and other Middle Eastern sides. Chickpeas are high in fiber, protein, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, manganese, Vitamin B6 and folate while the additional greens also increase these nutrients so it’s a jam packed burger. Other great sides for this dish include our fabulous hummus, tabouli, or simply serve with the easiest tomato and avocado salad.
Ingredients
- 1 can of chickpeas (BPA free) or 1 ¼ cup of cooked chickpeas
- ½ cup gluten free flour (Here’s a great list of gluten free alternatives)
- 1 handful of parsley, chopped roughly
- 1 handful of fresh cilantro (coriander), chopped roughly
- 2 handfuls of baby spinach and kale leaves, chopped roughly
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- ½ red onion, chopped roughly
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- sea salt & pepper, to taste
- 1-2 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil to fry in
Tahini Sauce:
- ¼ cup (60 ml) tahini
- Zest and juice of 1 small lemon
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) cold-pressed olive oil
Directions
- Place a litte GF flour onto a plate to roll the falafel in.
- Process all the falafel ingredients until mixed well in a food processor then take into 2 tablespoon sized balls, roll in the flour and flatten and set aside.
- Heat a non-stick pan with oil and fry the falafel on each side until browned.
- While the falafel is frying add all the tahini sauce ingredients in a food processor and combine well.
- Serve immediately with the tahini sauce and a side salad.
Servings: 10
Substitutions
- Chickpeas – butter beans, cannalio beans
- GF flour – wholewheat, spelt flour
- Spinach – swiss chard (silverbeet), choy sum, sweet potato leaves
- Red onion – brown onion, scallions (shallots)
- Tahini – greek yogurt