Baked Beetroot Falafel

Oh how i love falafel! Being Lebanese i've been eating falafel for basically my whole life. However, the falafel i grew up on was usually deep fried and filled with parsley rather then beetroot. I wanted to create a healthy version of my beloved falafel so that I can feel less guilty when all I want most nights is a delicious falafel bowl or wrap.

The best and easiest part about falafel is that the chickpeas don't need to be cooked. I soak my chickpeas the night before (or for at least 8 hours). Lots of people tend to buy pre cooked chickpeas in the canned to make falafel, but i personally recommend using raw chickpeas and soaking them. It creates a crunchy and less mushy texture which in my opinion is necessary for falafel.

Ingredients:

• 800g of soaked chickpeas (2 1/2 cups)

• 2 beetroots, cooked & chopped

• 1 large white onion (or 2 small-medium size)

• 1/4 cup of chickpea flour

• 3 tbsp of tahini paste

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 2 tbsp of fresh parsley

• 1 tsp of ground cumin

• 1 tsp of chilli powder

• 1 tsp of salt

• 1 tbsp of oil

• Tahini dressing

• 2 tbsp of tahini

• 1-2 splash’s of water

• 1 tsp of cumin

• 1/2 lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C or 180 degrees C fan.

2. Place chickpeas, onion and garlic into a food processor. Pulse a few times until mixture is coarsely chopped.

3. Add in the beetroot, tahini, cumin, chilli and salt and blitz until the mixture combines.

4. Add in the flour and mix again

5. On a plate pour over 1/4 cup of sesame seeds. Use your hands to scrape out small balls of the mixture and roll on the sesame seeds evenly.

6. Transfer falafel balls to the baking tray, coat with a drizzle of olive oil and bake for 10-15 minutes.

7. Flip after 10-15 and then bake for another 10 minutes (or until the outside looks crispy)

8. Serve hot with fresh tomato, pita bread, parsley & tahini dressing.