Fresh Herb Falafel - Recipe - Natural Nourishment

Serves

Prep in

20 minutes

Cooks in

25 minutes

These falafel epitomise the amazingness of plant based ingredients for me.

So simple, requiring little more effort than leisurely adding things to a food processor, they are bursting with flavour and can easily be adapted to different tastes. For those less in love with herbs simply use all spinach, possibly with a small amount of rocket or watercress, or just stick to parsley as opposed to the dill and coriander. If you don’t have the whole quantity of the nuts I’ve used add pine nuts or a few walnuts (but no more than 50g of these as they can add a bitterness) or for nut free opt for equal quantities of sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

From a nutritional perspective the ingredients here are all absolute superstars as well. Chickpeas are rich in dietary fibre and plant based protein, aiding in satiety and blood sugar regulation. Then there’s the minerals they’re bursting with, and that’s before we even mention the whole body health supporting effects that all those beautiful greens have …

Basically these little babies are total plant based powerhouses, and ones that grace my dinner table at least once a week so I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! 😀

Key Facts

Makes 16-18
Plant-Powered
High Protein & Fibre
Vegan

Ingredients

100g flaked almonds
100g pistachios (shelled)
1 medium onion
200g spinach (mixing with 100g of watercress also works really well)
100g fresh parsley
50g fresh coriander
50g fresh dill
400g chickpeas
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt

Preparation

01

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line a large, flat baking tray with parchment.

02

Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then leave in a sieve to one side.

03

Place the spinach, parsley, coriander and dill into the bowl of a food processor, pulse a couple of times to break down.

04

Peel and roughly chop the onion then add to the herbs blending again until fine, you might need to scrape down the sides a couple of times.

05

Next, add the nuts, cumin, baking powder, olive oil and seasoning, blending again until completely incorporated before finally adding the chickpeas. Pulse 3-4 times to chop but not completely process, you want to keep a bit of texture within the falafel. Taste a small amount of the mixture and adjust the seasoning if needs be.

06

Use a tablespoon to scoop out portions of the mix, rolling into balls before flattening slightly into patties and arranging on the parchment lined tray. Continue with the rest of the mixture then place in the oven to bake for 15 minutes. Gently check the underside to see they’re lightly golden then flip carefully and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.