Are you looking for quick and easy healthy ideas? This healthy sharing board makes an impressive dinner party with totally delicious oven-baked falafel, refreshing yogurt sauce, warm pita bread, olives and lots of fresh veggies.
I baked my falafel patties in the oven, so they are low in saturated and trans fats. This method is a little bit healthier and I like it more than deep frying.
Falafel is best served with refreshing and super-simple garlic yogurt sauce. I surprised how is good coconut yogurt instead of plain yogurt here. Sprinkle it with a pinch of aromatic dukkah and add some extra flavor.
Dukkah is an Egyptian dry mix of roasted nuts, seeds, and spices finely blended together. This mix is typically sprinkled on olive oil-dipped pita bread. Try dukkah and you’ll be sprinkling it on everything. This mix is easy to make at home.
For the best falafel texture, I recommend you to use dried chickpeas soaked overnight in the water(at least 8 hours). The traditional version doesn`t use cooked or canned chickpeas.
Ingredients
Serves 2Falafel
- 1 Cup of chickpea, soaked overnight (or 1 can of chickpea), drained
- 1/4 Onion, chopped
- 1 Garlic clove, chopped
- 1 Tbsp Tahini
- 1 Tbsp Wholemeal flour or rice flour (for GF version)
- 1/2 Tsp Paprika powder
- 1 Tsp Cumin seeds, crushed in the mortar
- Pinch of cayenne powder
- 1/2 Tsp coriander powder
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 Cup of chopped parsley and coriander leaves
- 2 Tbsps black and white sesame seeds
- Salt as taste
- Black pepper as taste
Coconut Yoghurt Sauce
- 1 Cup of plain non-sweet coconut yogurt
- Small bunch of coriander leaves, chopped
- 1 Tsp of lemon or lime juice
- 1 Garlic clove, grated
- Fine Himalayan salt – as taste
- Black pepper, freshly grounded – as taste
For Garnish:
- 1 Ripe avocado, sliced
- 1 Cucumber, sliced
- Bunch of radishes, sliced
- 1/4 Red onion, сut into rings
- 1 Heirloom tomato, sliced
- 1/2 Cup of Mixed Greek olives
- 2 Fresh pita bread
- Some greens and sprouts, I use Mesclun salad mix and Alfalfa sprouts
- 1/2 Cup of toasted mixed seeds (pumpkin and sunflower seeds)
- 1/2 Cup Dukkah
- Slice of lemon
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
Directions
- For falafel. Preheat the oven to 180C fan bake/ 350F
- Combine all ingredients for falafel in the food processor and blend until everything is mixed well, but the texture is still a little chunky and not totally smooth. Chill the mix in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
- Make 7 patties using your hands. Keep your hands are wet. It helps to prevent sticking.
- Place falafels on the tray lined with baking paper. Smear it with some oil using the brush or cooking spray. A layer of oil will help to falafel stay juicy inside and do not dry. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake them for 10 minutes, then flip and bake another 10 minutes until outside is nice and crispy.
- For sauce. Combine coconut yogurt with lemon juice, garlic, chopped coriander leaves, salt and black pepper. Mix well. Sprinkle with Dukkah.
- Serve falafel on the sharing board, when it still warm. Garnish with warm pita bread, coconut sauce, olives, juicy vegetables and greens, drizzled with lemon juice, sprinkled sea salt and toasted seeds.
