EVEN BETTER FALAFEL

I have made falafel before and I am always game to try variations of homemade falafel.  In Mark Bittman's new book VB6, he has a falafel recipe that is easy to make, he says it is a lighter recipe and since you brush the falafel patties with oil before baking, they still get the crunchy taste and look that you would have if they were fried.  I made the recipe as he described in his book, (Mark Bittman VB6).  What impressed me about the recipe was that you didn't need to cook the chickpeas beforehand.  I soaked them for about 24 hours so that they were softened.  The batter is suppose to be firm and not overly moist.  When I made falafel in a previous posting, I used canned chickpeas and the batter was more moist.  I also flattened the unbaked balls as per the directions in the recipe and I liked the pattie shape versus a ball shape.  The recipe says it makes 20 falafel patties but I made about 24.  The number of falafels made was more than what the DH and I could reasonable eat over several days so I froze a number of them.  They will be great to take for lunch to work.  Based on the number of falafels I made, three falafel patties are calculated to be three points in the Weight Watcher plan.  The recipe has provides direction to make a tahini sauce and it added a nice flavour to the patties.  I didn't eat the falafel with bread, such as pita bread, but ate them with the tahini sauce.

To accompany the falafel as part of supper, I made a quinoa salad.  I have several quinoa recipes that you can consider in my blog index.  I used vegetables for the salad that I had in the fridge - carrot, celery, cucumber and bell pepper.  A delicious meal that provided leftovers!

Falafel just out of the oven.

Quinoa salad.