This particular recipe was born of a sudden craving for falafel coupled with making do with kitchen ingredients on hand. It actually turned out beautifully, so I’m sharing with you. This is a wonderful meal or snack. It was so good, I didn’t use tahini sauce, but you’re welcome to drizzle with tahini or a cow-dairy-free tzatziki sauce.

Gluten-free Falafel

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This scrumptious recipe yields a dozen falafel balls (3 per person) that are fluffy as a cloud.

• CourseMain Dish
• CuisineMiddle Eastern

Servings	Prep Time
4 people	10 minutes

Cook Time	Passive Time
15 minutes	1 hour

Servings Prep Time 4 people 10 minutes

Cook Time Passive Time 15 minutes 1 hour

Gluten-free Falafel Print Recipe This scrumptious recipe yields a dozen falafel balls (3 per person) that are fluffy as a cloud. CourseMain Dish CuisineMiddle Eastern Servings Prep Time 4 people 10 minutes Cook Time Passive Time 15 minutes 1 hour Servings Prep Time 4 people 10 minutes Cook Time Passive Time 15 minutes 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 scant tbsp baking powder
• 2-4 tablespoons tapioca starch (or corn starch)
• 5 cherry tomatoes (or 2 tbsp lemon juice)
• grapeseed oil (or light olive oil—for frying)

Servings: people

Instructions

1. Place the chickpeas and onion in a large-sized food processor and pulse until blended.
2. Add in onion powder, salt, cumin, and egg yolks; and either tomatoes or lemon juice. Pulse until smoothly blended.
3. Add in the baking powder and tapioca starch, then pulse. Add enough starch so the mixture resembles a dough in appearance and texture; but it should not stick to your hands.
4. Place mixture in a bowl and cover with a plate or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour, preferably two or more.
5. Using a small ice cream scoop or melon baller, form the “dough” into spheres approx. the size of a golf ball, and set them aside on a plate.
6. In a deep, non-stick sauce pan or wok, heat three inches of oil to 375° or until oil starts to “vibrate” a little from the heat. You can also do a temperature test by dropping a teaspoon of falafel mixture into the oil. If it sizzles easily, the oil is ready. Oil should not be smoking.
7. Fry four balls at a time, for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown (but not dark brown).
8. Drain cooked falafel on paper towels and serve over salad or in a gluten-free pita or wrap with chopped onions, lettuce, peppers, pickles, etc.
9. Optional: drizzle the balls with tahini or tzatziki sauce.

Recipe Notes

About the Ingredients

1. In place of cherry tomatoes or lemon juice, you can use Bragg’’s Liquid Aminos.
2. Do not use extra virgin olive oil when frying, as this tends to smoke at relatively low temperatures.

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