Canned chickpeas will introduce too much moisture and make the falafel mushy, so the dried chickpeas in this recipe from the Evergreen Cookbook are really a must. If you have an air-fryer, you can pop them in that for an even crispier exterior.
What you need:
For the falafel:
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked 18 to 24 hours and drained
1½ cups lightly packed chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
⅔ cup finely chopped yellow onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 scallions, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1¼ teaspoons fine salt
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
For the quick-pickled red cabbage:
2 cups shredded red cabbage
½ teaspoon fine salt
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup boiling water
½ cup white wine vinegar
For serving:
Store-bought vegan tzatziki
1 English cucumber, chopped
Pitas, warmed
What you do:
- For the falafel, place an oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Into a food processor, add chickpeas, parsley, onion, garlic, scallions, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, salt, and 1 tablespoon of oil. Pulse, scraping down sides as needed, until finely ground crumbs are formed but are not completely puréed.
- Scoop 2-tablespoon portions of chickpea mixture and arrange on prepared baking sheet. Using fingertips, gently flatten balls into thick patties. Generously brush both sides with remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Bake 15 minutes, until golden brown on bottom. Flip and bake until golden brown on other side, another 10 to 15 minutes.
- For the quick-pickled red cabbage, in a medium heatproof bowl, combine cabbage and salt. Using hands, rub salt into cabbage. Add sugar, pepper, boiling water, and white wine vinegar. Stir well to combine. Cover and let sit at least 20 minutes to soften.
- In shallow bowls, arrange falafel, tzatziki, cucumber, and pickled red cabbage. Serve with pitas.
For more recipes like this, check out:
Here at VegNews, we live and breathe the vegan lifestyle, and only recommend products we feel make our lives amazing. Occasionally, articles may include shopping links where we might earn a small commission. In no way does this effect the editorial integrity of VegNews.