Meatless Monday: Falafel Burger Recipe With Bright Flavors
by Julia Millay Walsh
You don’t have to be a vegetarian to get into a healthy and delicious veggie burger. It’s the perfect thing to have on a Meatless Monday! Today Claire Thomas, author and blogger behind The Kitchy Kitchen, is sharing with us one of her go-tos: falafel burgers. “I love the bright, fresh flavors in falafel, and on a grain-free bun with chipotle tahini, it’s the perfect guilt-free lunch,” she says. She also points out that they make great party appetizers (Super Bowl!) since they’re about the size of sliders.
Read on for the recipe.
Photo: Claire Thomas
Grain-Free Buns
Makes 12 buns
1 ½ cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup almond flour
½ cup raw almonds
2 tablespoons chia seed
3 tablespoons organic coconut oil, melted
1½ tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon harissa
2 ½ cups filtered water
1 cup rolled oats, gluten free
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds
½ cup ground flax seeds
1½ tablespoons sesame seeds
¼ cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
In a food processor, blender, or nut/seed grinder, add the sunflower seeds, almond flour, almonds, and chia seeds and grind until a fine powder is created. Pour into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together melted coconut oil, maple syrup, harissa, and water until combined.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground nuts and seeds with all other dry ingredients (oats, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, coconut flour).
Pour the “wet” mixture from the small mixing bowl into the large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until formed into a dough. For buns, grease a muffin tin (line with a bit of parchment paper too, if you like) and scoop a ¼ cup of dough into each mold.
Let set at room temperature for about 2 hours (or more). This is important as the chia seeds, flax seeds, coconut flour will have more time to absorb the liquid mixture and soften.
Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until golden brown and firm.
Let cool at room temperature before slicing (important).
RELATED: Vegan Super Bowl Hack: Cauliflower Buffalo Wings
Chipotle Tahini
1 tablespoon chipotle in adobo
¼ cup tahini
Squeeze of lime
Combine and set aside.
Photo: Claire Thomas
Falafel Burgers
Makes 12 small burgers
1 ¼ cups dried chickpeas (7 ounces) or 2 cups canned chickpeas
2 garlic cloves, minced
¾ cup finely chopped yellow onion (1 small onion)
¼ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne
Pinch of ground cardamom
½ teaspoon baking soda
Grapeseed oil for frying
Toppings
Grain-Free Buns (recipe above)
Chipotle Tahini (recipe above)
Spinach
Sprouts
If preparing your own chickpeas, pour the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover them by about 3 inches of cold water. Let them soak overnight. Or, if you’re in a rush, cover the chickpeas with 3 inches of water, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cover, cooking for 2 hours, to until tender.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Pour them into your food processor along with the rest of the ingredients, except for the frying oil. Pulse all ingredients together until a rough, coarse meal forms, about three 10 second pulses. The texture should be somewhere between couscous and hummus (slightly dry and crumbly, but holding together). Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, pour it out into a bowl. Remove any large chickpea chunks that the processor missed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Form the chickpea mixture into 3-inch patties, a ½ inch thick.
In a deep sauté pan, add about a 1/8 inch of oil, and heat up over medium heat. Once hot, add the patties, cooking for about a minute per side, until golden brown. Set aside.
Combine everything on the grain-free bun and enjoy!
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