For a light meal, serve the tabouli salad and falafels over a bed of lettuce with some fresh olives on the side. For a heartier meal, accompany with hummus and pita bread or gluten-free crackers, grilled summer vegetables, and even a salmon dish.
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Ingredients
For the Quinoa Tabouli
1cupdry quinoa
1 1/2tspsalt
1/4cupfresh lemon or lime juice
1-2clovesfreshcrushed garlic
3tbspfinely minced red onion
1tbspfresh copped or 1 tsp. dried peppermint leaf
1/4virgin olive oil
fresh black pepper
2medium tomatoesdiced
1cucumber
1cupfreshly chopped parsley
For the Baked Falafels
approximately 4 cups cooked chickpeas2 BPA-free cans or 2 cups dried chickpeas soaked and then cooked
3clovescrushed garlic
1/2cupeach of scallions and celeryfinely minced
2beaten eggs
3tbsptahini
1/2tspground cumin
1/2tsptumeric
1 1/2tspsea salt
1/4tspcayenne pepper
dash of black pepper
For the Tahini Sauce
1cuptahini
1clovecrushed garlic
1/4cupfresh lemon juice
salt to taste
dash or two of cayenne pepper
Instructions
For the Quinoa Tabouli
Rinse quinoa for 2 minutes and combine in a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to lowest setting and cook covered for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand, covered, for 5 more minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
Combine lemon juice, garlic, oil, and mint, and mix thoroughly. Add onion, tomato, and cucumber.
After it has cooled a bit, add seasonings/veggies to quinoa. You can put the bowl in the fridge if you want it to cool thoroughly while you make the falafel .
For the Baked Falafels
Mash the chickpeas well and combine with all of the other ingredients. I commonly use a food processor to get a thorough mix, but you can do this by hand.
Chill well in the fridge – about 30 minutes
Preheat oven on Bake to 400 degrees
With lightly damp hands, form the batter into one-inch diameter balls and place onto a well-oiled baking sheet.
Bake for around 30 minutes – the balls should look well-formed and slightly brown on top. Don't worry: they will firm up more once they come out of the oven and cool.
For the Tahini Sauce
Combine all ingredients and beat well with a whisk, or combine into a blender and it do its thing. Add several TBSP water while blending or whisking if you like a thinner sauce.
Notes
For the Quinoa Tabouli - Serves 4 as a side dish.For the Baked Falafels - Serves 4 with leftovers.