‘What is a falafel?’, our travel companion mused as we strolled past our second falafel purveyor in a block in Manhattan’s midtown. For a moment, I wondered if he was joking. Surely everyone had indulged in pita wrapped falafel with tomato, lettuce, and plenty of white & red sauce, whether for a hurried lunch or on the way home from a late night out!
As it turns out, the middle-eastern favorite of vegetarians and time-strapped New Yorkers alike remains new to many. Here, we skip the fryer and introduce you to the recipe for our very favorite healthy variation…baked falafel with hazelnuts.
Falafel are a middle eastern blend of chick peas or fava beans, spices, and herbs, all chopped and coarsely blended, shaped, then baked or fried. Full of protein, falafel are served most traditionally with sauce as an appetizer unto themselves, as part of a middle-eastern mezze platter with hummus, feta, baba ganoush, and lavash, or wrapped in a pita with fresh lettuce and tomato, topped with creamy tahini and spicy sauces.
As with most recipes, proper ingredients will make or break the outcome. Here, tinned chickpeas will add too much water to shape and bake the falafel, so the evening before, cover your dried chickpeas with plenty of water and they will be ready to drain and prepare for your next lunch or dinner.
Fresh cilantro, parsley, and roasted hazelnuts combine with the spices and chickpeas for a unique and truly traveled taste. Whether these are your first falafel or you’re looking for your new go-to recipe, we think these will be your new favorites. Our apologies in advance to all the falafel carts out there…
Baked Hazelnut Falafel
These healthy baked falafel are packed with fresh herbs and roasted hazelnuts, making a delicious meal (and leftovers) that are worth planning ahead for.
- 1.5 cups dried chickpeas
- 0.25 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 small onion (diced)
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 red chili (finely diced)
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 cup cilantro (coriandar with stems, chopped)
- 1/2 cup parsley leaves (chopped)
- 1/2 cup hazelnuts
- 1 tsp of baking soda
- Soak chickpeas overnight, covered in water. After 8+ hours rinse the chickpeas and dry.
- In a food processor or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, blend the chickpeas and salt into small pieces.
- Add the diced onion, garlic, chili, spices, and herbs.
- Continue to blend the mixture until it holds together, without being a paste.
- Chill for 30 minutes
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 F / 190 C
- Meanwhile, toast the hazelnuts in a pan on medium heat, stirring frequently. Once cool, remove the skins by rubbing the hazelnuts in a clean dishcloth. Roughly crush the hazelnuts with a mortal and pestle, or using a rolling pin.
- Stir the crushed hazelnuts and baking soda into the falafel mixture.
- Oil a baking sheet and use your hands or an ice-cream scoop to make 12 flattened balls.
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Bake for 20-30 minutes, turning carefully for 10-15 minutes on each side.
- Serve as a whole meal in a pita, or create a Mezze Platter with falafel, hummus and other sides.
Using dried chickpeas is essential to the texture of the recipe. The 1.5 cups of fresh herbs helps with the moisture content of the falafel, but depending on what you have on hand, this can be reduced to a 1 cup mix of parsley and/or cilantro.
Our recipe was adapted from New Feast, by Greg and Lucy Malouf. Their modern middle eastern vegetarian cookbook is worth checking out for inspired cooking from far off lands.
Dukkah is an aromatic spice blend originating out of Egypt. Walking the streets of Cairo you can find street vendors selling Dukkah out of paper cones along with olive oil and strips of pita bread to dip as a snack. It’s delicious and, being so easy to make, makes a great addition to your repertoire.
In Egypt each family and vendor has their own special recipe blend, however the common ingredients include ground nuts such as hazelnuts or pistachios, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and salt. Dukkah is from the Arabic word ‘to pound’ and after being toasted, the ingredients are pounded together with a mortar and pestle to release the flavor and create coarse crumbs.
Dukkah is delicious with many dishes so feel free to get creative with its uses. As a start, try it:
- As an appetizer dip warm fresh bread in olive oil, then the dukkah
- Sprinkled on top of a hummus or guacamole dip
- As a garnish on your favourite soup or salad
- Sprinkled over roast veggies
- Topped on your morning eggs
A handmade jar of Dukkah will even make a lovely gift around the holidays, or as thanks to a host.
Making your own Dukkah takes nearly no time at all and with whole fresh ingredients you will be treated to a flavor far superior to a store bought version. Find whole spices and roast them right before you need them, adapt the quantities to your taste, and enjoy serving good wholesome food, inspired from afar, to your friends and family.
Put out a small bowl of Dukkah with fresh-baked bread and olive oil next time you have guests over and we bet it will disappear in no time!
Pistachio Dukkah Egyptian Spice Mix
This aromatic spice blend is made with pistachios, seeds and spices. Use as a dip or garnish to add something special to your favorite dishes like hummus, bread and olive oil, roast veggies, avocado toast, eggs, and more.
- ½ cup pistachios
- 1 tbsp. coriander
- 1 tbsp. cumin
- 4 tbsp. sesame seeds
- ½ tsp. salt
- In a pan or the oven, toast the pistachios for 6-8 minutes, stirring them so they don’t burn. Set aside.
- Toast the cumin seeds and coriander seeds for 4-5 minutes until fragrant and starting to darken. Set aside.
- Toast the sesame seeds for 3-5 minutes until golden, stirring constantly. Set aside.
- Combine all the ingredients in a large mortar and pestle and grind together until the nuts are roughly crushed. You could also use a food processor, but avoid over mixing into a powder or paste.
- Store in a sealed jar for up to two weeks, or in the freezer for 3 months.
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