Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Zucchini Falafel

These carrot falafels have been on my mind of late and finally I've acted upon my urges. Substituting zucchini for the carrot and adding fresh coriander has given them a new lease of life. Some fafalel can be a bit dry but these have the perfect combination of a crunchy exterior surrounding a wonderfully moist interior.

zucchini falafel©


Zucchini Falafel

200 grams grated zucchini
400 gram can chickpeas, drained
1 red onion, chopped roughly
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
handful coriander leaves
breadcrumbs

Place the onion, paprika, cumin and baking powder in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add in the zucchini and chickpeas and pulse again to begin to break up the mixture. Finally add the coriander leaves and pulse just enough to finely chop them.

Place the mixture into a bowl, add a lightly whisked egg and stir it through. As the mix will be soft add just enough breadcrumbs to create a malleable mix.

zucchini falafel mixture©

Take small amounts of the mix and roll into balls or for a quicker and more even result, use a small ice cream scoop to form the falafel.

Roll each ball in breadcrumbs (I used a mix of panko and regular breadcrumbs) and set them aside.

You can store these in the fridge on paper towels if you aren't cooking them straight away.

To cook, either shallow or deep fry until golden and heated through. Drain on paper towels and eat when hot.

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An ideal fingerfood served as they are but add pita bread and tabouli and you've got yourself a delicious meal.

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29 comments

  1. Wow - they look amazing! Great blog you have here.

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  2. They look so cute and lovely!:)
    I love trying new falafel recipes with all kinds of veggies, and this one seems really really good.

    lovely blog btw.:)
    Tal

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  3. That last phot is simply awesome. Great twist on the normal falafels.

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  4. Thanks Jan!

    Thanks Tal!

    Thanks Nina - both the carrot and the zucchini lighten up the falafel as they can be a bit stodgy at times.

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  5. Wonderful take on the falafel! I love the idea of adding zucchini or carrot to it. Lovely. Bookmarking this to make soon.

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  6. wonderful falafels, I love to make these myself, but baked (calorie-conscious me). the pics are wodnerful.

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  7. This looks fantastic! Great idea to use zucchini this way.

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  8. color me surprised. I didnt even know you could make zucdhini into falafel. These look absolutely perfect. how delightful

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  9. Can I just tell you how awesome this looks? I could just pop one in my mouth right now!

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  10. Thanks JS - I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

    Thanks Zuzana - I've never even thought of baking them, that's a good idea.

    Thanks Kalyn!

    Thanks Erin - I think there's a whole lot of other vegetables that could be incorporated to bring a bit more variety into the standard falafel.

    Thanks Marie- a few disappeared while cooking, for legitimate tasting of course ;)

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  11. Those are perfect looking falafels, Haalo! I like how you've incorporated extra veg into them. I wonder if they would work, baked, because I'm reluctant to do deep frying at home.

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  12. Those look really good! Nice photos.

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  13. Oh wow, I want some of these. I hope you don't mind, but I am going to copy this recipe immediately :)

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  14. Thanks Y - i've just made another adaptation and tested out baking them and it works! They do take a lot longer to cook but if you don't like shallow or deep frying then this is worth trying. I'll probably right up more about them in the next post.

    Thanks Kevin

    Thanks Holler - I'm sure you'll going to enjoy these!

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  15. AnonymousJuly 19, 2008

    Beautiful! I am trying these tomorrow.

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  16. Wow, zucchini falafel... love falafels and I love zucchini... so this combo is just perfect for me :)

    Have a nice weekend, Margot

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  17. Thanks Coffeepot - I just saw your falafel, they look great!

    Thanks Margot and have a wonderful weekend too!

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  18. AnonymousJuly 21, 2008

    this is quite amazing, this is exactly what i was thinking abt on the train to work this morning! Falafel, pita and tabbouleh!!

    I've always wondered if it were possible to bake falafel instead of frying them. So it's possible then?What temp and how long did it take, if you don't mind my asking. And did they turn out the same?

    THANKS for the all the tempting food you post abt.Keep it up!

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  19. These look gr8, i just had falafel yesterday and this is such a wonderful variation. i've saved it in my recipe folder for the next time . Thanks for the recipe !

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  20. Hi Jean - it is possible - I used a baking paper lined baking tray that I drizzled with a little olive oil, then I rolled the falafel around on the tray to given them a little coating to help then crisp - if you are worried about oil it mostly gets left on the tray but it does add to the flavour. They took about 30+ minutes at around 180°C/350°F and I jiggled them around mid way through to ensure even browning.

    Thanks Kate - hope you enjoy them!

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  21. AnonymousJuly 29, 2008

    1. Yum - Delicsh!
    2. Everything in my cupboard/fridge. Gonna definitely make them.
    3. Glad its possible to bake them.
    4. Mixture of panko & breadcrumbs make for a great fried chicken, too.

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  22. Thanks Christine - hope you enjoy them!

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  23. Made these last night and they were fabulous. Thanks Haalo!

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  24. Thanks Giff - glad you enjoyed them!

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  25. The recipe is great, especially if your at WW, I make them at least once aweek and eat them cold with pitta and salad at lubch at work
    Maria
    London

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  26. AnonymousJune 15, 2009

    Superb... we're doing baby led weaning with our 6 month old baby - and we all loved them!!

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  27. Haalo,
    That sounds soooo good :)
    Your post made me hungry!

    I will send soon something for WHB, haven't been taking part in this even for ages.

    Have a nice weekend, Margot

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  28. These look gorgeous!!!! Its my first time at your blog and I'm mighty impressed, lovely photographs and interesting recipes, kudos to you!

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