Description
These crumbled falafel bowls are easy to make with crispy “falafel” crumbles, your choice of rice or greens, and lots of fun toppings!
Ingredients
Scale
Falafel Mix:
- 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked in water for 12 to 24 hours*
- half of a large white onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- zest of 1 lemon (we’ll use the juice for the veggies below)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Sumac Veggies:
- 1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
- half of an English cucumber, diced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon ground sumac
- pinch of fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
For Serving:
- 4 cups cooked rice
- tahini sauce for drizzling
- toppings: feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, lemon wedges, extra fresh parsley or cilantro
Instructions
- Prepare the rice and tahini sauce. Cook the rice according to package instructions and prepare the tahini sauce.
- Prepare the sumac veggies. Toss all ingredients together in a mixing bowl until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Blend the falafel mix. Drain and thoroughly dry the chickpeas. Add the chickpeas, onion, parsley, cilantro, cumin, salt, coriander, garlic and lemon zest to a food processor. Pulse briefly 5-10 times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. (Don’t overdo it or the mixture will turn into a paste.)
- Sauté the falafel mix. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the falafel mix in an even layer. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the bottom of the mix reaches a golden brown color. Then give the mix a good stir, spread it out evenly in the pan, and cook again until the bottom of the mix reaches a golden brown color. Repeat this process 3 or 4 more times until the mix is toasted to your liking.
- Serve. Layer up serving bowls with rice, falafel mix, sumac veggies, and any other toppings you would like. Drizzle with tahini sauce, add a few twists of black pepper or a sprinkle of sumac, serve and enjoy!
Notes
Chickpeas: To soak the chickpeas, place them in a large mixing bowl with water, making sure the water covers the chickpeas by at least 2 to 3 inches. Soak for 12-24 hours. If you don’t have time to soak dried chickpeas, you can use 2 (15-ounce) cans of rinsed, drained and thoroughly dried chickpeas instead. The texture will be different, as canned chickpeas hold much more moisture, but they will still be delicious in this recipe.