Fluffy falafel and the GF flatbreads
No, not a vegetarian punk band, just a chance for us all to renew our love affair with Middle Eastern food. These falafel are light and fluffy on the inside and all crispy and dark on the outside. The gluten free flatbreads rock as well. But don’t just take my word for it …
Sprouted chickpea falafel
2 cups of sprouted chickpeas
½ an onion
4 cloves of garlic
Thumbnail sized piece of turmeric root, diced and lightly fried in oil
Small handful of coriander leaf (cilantro) or parsley
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp chickpea flour
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend to a thick paste. It wants to be smooth enough to stick together when forced, but not so smooth it becomes hummus. Place this in a bowl, cover with a small plate and refrigerate for a minimum of one hour.
Take the mix and form into balls. If they won’t hold, add a little more chickpea flour and maybe a touch of water. If you are really having problems, add an egg, but these will be loose and bind together with the cooking, so have faith and a delicate hand. Fill a high sided frying pan with oil so it comes half way up the side of your falafel. Bring to a high medium heat (not too hot), and cook each ball for a few minutes, until you see they are browned well on the bottom. Turn them over and give them the same treatment, then put them out on paper towel.
Always use an oil with a high smoking point to avoid production of toxins. We like to use coconut oil in our house, but rice bran oil is a good substitute. For health and environmental reasons, we never use canola oil, and recommend everyone do the same. Using coconut oil to fry is expensive when it is purchased by the 500 ml jar, but we get around that by buying it wholesale in 20 litre drums.
Gluten free flatbread
1 cup millet flour
½ cup sorghum flour
½ cup chickpea flour
½ potato flour
½ cup tapioca starch
1 tsp salt
1 tsp psyllium husk
1 egg
2 tbsp olive oil
½ cup water
Mix all the dry stuff together in a bowl, then add the wet stuff. Form into a dough, then divide into half, then again twice until you have 8 balls. They will roll out easily on a lightly floured board into thin rounds. Heat a cast iron pan, and add ½ tsp of olive oil to the pan for each flatbread cooked. If you get the heat just right, they will separate in the middle to form a pocket, but I prefer just laying the filling in the centre and folding the edges together to make a half moon.
We served these with a salad of sliced spring onion, grated carrot and grated beetroot, with a thick sauce made from tahini, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and lemon juice.
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