Baked Falafels with Spirulina Green Sauce
Our family LOVES Mediterranean food. I love falafels, but have been looking for a baked falafel recipe for a long time. I finally found one that looked good and revised it with more herbs and spices and additional protein supplied by adding quinoa to the falafel mixture. We had falafels tonight with hot pita bread, homemade hummus, tabouleh and lots of fresh vegetables. I did not have spiraling powder so I substituted my green food powder that I put into my smoothies each morning. The resulting sauce was spectacular. Delicious!!
Ingredients
¼ cup quinoa
1 ½ cups fresh parsley
½ cup fresh cilantro
2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 large garlic cloves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon salt
1 (15 oz) can unsalted garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tablespoons minced yellow onion
Spirulina Sauce
¼ cup tahini
2 lemons juiced to yield 6 Tablespoons
¾ teaspoons spirulina powder (I used my green vegetable powder that I add to my smoothies)
3 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup fresh parsley
½ cup fresh cilantro
¼ cup water
Red cabbage
Pita bread
Hummus
Tabouleh
In a small saucepan, cook quinoa in ½ cup water. Bring to a boil, turn to simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Let cool. in a food processor place cooked quinoa, parsley, flax seed, oil, garlic, cumin, turmeric and salt. Process until mixed slightly.
Add garbanzo beans and onion and pulse to grind coarsely. Do not blend. Leave a bit of texture in the mix. Drop the mixture by rounded tablespoons onto parchment or foil that you spray with nonstick spray. Fresh balls down a bit into 16 small patties.
Place under preheated broiler (rack on the second-to-top notch) and broil 9-10 minutes. Flip each patty over with spatula and broil another 4-5 minutes. Watch carefully. 
While falafels cook, you can prepare sauce. In food processor puree tahini, lemon juice, spirulina or green powder, parsley, cilantro, salt, garlic and water. Blend until smooth.
Serve with red cabbage, warm pita bread, hummus, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. Drizzle green sauce over falafels or into your falafel pita sandwich.
- ¼ cup quinoa
- 1 ½ cups fresh parsley
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- 2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 (15 oz) can unsalted garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 Tablespoons minced yellow onion
- Spirulina Sauce
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 lemons juiced to yield 6 Tablespoons
- ¾ teaspoons spirulina powder (I used my green vegetable powder that I add to my smoothies)
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup fresh parsley
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup water
- Red cabbage
- Pita bread
- Hummus
- Tabouleh
- In a small saucepan, cook quinoa in ½ cup water. Bring to a boil, turn to simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Let cool.
- In a food processor place cooked quinoa, parsley, flax seed, oil, garlic, cumin, turmeric and salt. Process until mixed slightly.
- Add garbanzo beans and onion and pulse to grind coarsely.
- Do not blend. Leave a bit of texture in the mix.
- Drop the mixture by rounded tablespoons onto parchment or foil that you spray with nonstick spray. Fresh balls down a bit into 16 small patties.
- Place under preheated broiler (rack on the second-to-top notch) and broil 9-10 minutes.
- Flip each patty over with spatula and broil another 4-5 minutes. Watch carefully.
- While falafels cook, you can prepare sauce.
- In food processor puree tahini, lemon juice, spirulina or green powder, parsley, cilantro, salt, garlic and water.
- Blend until smooth.
- Serve with red cabbage, warm pita bread, hummus, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes.
- Drizzle green sauce over falafels or into your falafel pita sandwich.
Have you tried making a falafel recipe that you love? Feel free to share it in the comments.
