{"id":6108,"date":"2016-01-15T08:48:29","date_gmt":"2016-01-14T19:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ascensionkitchen.com\/?p=6108"},"modified":"2018-04-18T18:02:16","modified_gmt":"2018-04-18T06:02:16","slug":"healthy-baked-falafel-with-turmeric-tahini-dressing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ascensionkitchen.com\/healthy-baked-falafel-with-turmeric-tahini-dressing\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthy Baked Falafel with Turmeric Tahini Dressing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Healthy baked falafel made from soaked chickpeas and jam-packed with fresh herbs and spices. Finished with a bright yellow turmeric tahini dressing - these are a winner!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Healthy<\/p>\n

This healthy Baked Falafel recipe has been in my mind for a few months now, it was definitely a recipe that needed making and re-making to get it just-so, which is why it took so long to create.<\/p>\n

I’m really not a big falafel eater. The only time I used to have them, was in the early hours of the morning, bumbling into the kebab store wobbly-legged and full of giggles at the end of a night out dancing. And then, instant falafel-kebab regret. An ounce of soberness traded for a belly full of stodgy, heavy grease, onion breath and a smear of sauce on a new top. Just charming.<\/p>\n

This was many moons ago now. I feel well and truly grown up since those advertising-creative-party-girl days. Tsk tsk I want to say to my younger self!<\/p>\n

I’m digressing.<\/p>\n

What I meant to say was, I’m not a big falafel eater because I have such strong memories of those late-night clumsy walk-ins. But recently, I had a craving come back. Falafels are <\/em>good, right? They can be really, really good, done right, and they don’t need to be deep-fried in oil, slathered in sugary sauce and sandwiched between doughy bread to be enjoyed. <\/p>\n

In fact - I did make some healthy raw falafels a while back now - Skinny Falafel<\/a> - they're made with sprouted quinoa, celeriac, zucchini, herbs and spices. The recipe was paired with a wicked raw Zucchini Hummus<\/a> - do check it out, you may like to match it up with this recipe also. But now let's get back to the elusive baked variety with that beautiful crunch...<\/p>\n

The falafel trials<\/h2>\n

And so the mission began. I started out using tinned chickpeas – which really, is so lazy of me – and no surprise, the resulting falafels were ok spice-wise but were soft and mushy, not a nice mouth-feel. Then I played with adding some extra flour to bind and thicken them up – rice (nope – funny taste), oat (double no – super sticky and impossible to roll), and finally chickpea (yep – right flavour, and not too sticky). I tried soaking the chickpeas then lightly steaming them before baking, and found the steaming an annoyingly unnecessary step. They are getting cooked after all so why do it twice?<\/p>\n

In the end, I settled on a good 24-hour soak for the chickpeas, which has the added benefit of making them that much friendlier on the gut, and blended them with lots of fresh greens – spinach and parsley from the garden and a big bunch of coriander (those who can successfully grow coriander without it bolting to seed – I bow in awe).<\/p>\n

Finally, instead of relying on the chickpea flour to give them a firmer texture, I used a mix of sunflower and sesame seeds. This was great as they ended up with a bit of crunch. Far from mushy. Mission accomplished!<\/p>\n

[bctt tweet=\"Must-try Healthy Baked Falafels with Turmeric and Tahini Dressing! Find it here.\"]<\/p>\n

\"Healthy<\/h2>\n

Turmeric and Tahini dressing<\/h2>\n

To serve, I made a lovely spiced tahini dressing. Sumac is something I’ve been playing around with lately – it has a beaut colour and a lovely lemony-tang. A bit of paprika (not too much – or it takes over), turmeric powder,<\/a> and a dash of a slightly sweet white balsamic from the Farmer’s Market. Herbs and spices are actually among the richest, most concentrated sources of antioxidants [1]<\/span> – so use them liberally in your cooking (and un-cooking).<\/p>\n

It’s photographed here with a simple garden salad. They tasted even better the next day, and I found myself making quick lunches through the week by adding a big dollop of hummus<\/a>, a few tablespoons of fermented beet and red cabbage, and a few sprinkles of karengo fronds, a type of red seaweed native to New Zealand (also called Porphyra<\/em>) – which I love for its rich store of minerals [2].<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ll definitely be making these again, they make easy read-made mid week feasts.<\/p>\n

Hope you enjoy, and please share your coriander growing tips if you have any!<\/p>\n

Lauren.<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udcd6Recipe<\/h2>
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HEALTHY BAKED FALAFEL WITH SPINACH AND SUNFLOWER SEEDS<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\nNaturopath Lauren Glucina<\/a><\/span>\n
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Vegan and gluten free baked falafels packed with greens. Note: active prep time is around 20 minutes, but chickpeas are to be soaked for 24 hours in advance.<\/span><\/div>\n
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