Spicy Black Bean Falafel Salad with Tahini Lime Dressing

Falafel makes me so freaking happy.

 Look at this picture. Wouldn't that make you happy too?

 

 

   The truth of the matter is though, I have tried many times to make Falafel and I have never succeeded. The main reason for that is that I'm not a fan of frying anything so I always try to put a healthy spin on the cooking method by baking them instead. Which half of the time leads to dry, crumbly falafel patties. Which is sooooo not appetizing at all. Who wants to eat a sand-patty? Not me.

 

   But in doing a little research, I also found that I was using the wrong ingredients in addition to attempting to bake instead of frying them! I often used organic BPA-Free canned beans (great for hummus, not falafel) as my base when I should have been using pre-soaked dry beans. AHA! The main reason for this is that when the beans are already cooked they will crumble and would need flour as a binder = sand patty city.

 

   So this recipe does require a little pre planning ahead of time. I pre soaked 1 cup of black beans in 4 cups of water for 24 hours in my refrigerator before I attempted to make this dish for dinner the following day. Also note, that beans swell to twice their original size and will end up equaling two cups in the end.

 

Recipe:

 

Falafel

 

1 cup dry organic black beans, pre-soaked in water 24 hours ahead of time

1 bunch organic green onions, green and white parts chopped

5 small garlic cloves (or 3 large depending on the size)

1 tsp Aluminum Free Baking Powder

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 handful fresh cilantro, de-stemmed

Extra Virgin Olive Oil for brushing

 

Dressing

 

1/4 cup Organic Tahini

1/2 lime freshly squeezed

1 Tbsp Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

3 Tbsp Filtered Water

 

Salad- Rough Estimates

 

4-6 cups organic mixed greens

1 large handful cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 organic red onion, chopped

1 large handful organic baby carrots,sliced lengthwise

1/2 organic cucumber, chopped

1 cup organic broccoli sprouts

 

Directions:

 

1.) Pre-soak beans 24 hours ahead of time. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse beans until they begin to form a paste-like consistency or so that there are no whole beans left. You may add a Tbsp of water if necessary.

 

2.) Once evenly ground, combine remaining falafel ingredients and process until smooth. Form into medium sized patties and place onto a greased cookie sheet.( We made roughly six patties)

 

3.) Brush both sides of patties with EVOO before placing into oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, flipping patties over half-way through. Increase oven temp to 375 for an additional 15 minutes to brown sides.

 

4.) While patties are baking in the oven, prepare your salad and dressing. Top salad with warm falafel and dressing.