Lakapáti – a guide to toothsome food, history, pets and life

KK with his plate of fantastic falafel yum!

After a brief hiatus from rawsome gourmet food preparation due to an intensified love affair with simple green smoothies and superfood drinks, the fat bags of quinoa on my table inspired me to create one of my most favorite Mediterranean-inspired meals, falafels with generous servings of couscous and  tabbouleh.

falafels dehydrating

Falafels are traditionally made with ground chickpeas, formed into small fat patties, flash fried and served with a creamy lemon garlic tahini sauce on the side. Making my own light and raw-ified version, I looked at many traditional and raw recipes. Chickpeas can be very heavy and not easily digested when eaten raw plus, most raw falafels call for a lot of nuts, which can be on the heavy side.

SOFTWARE:

• 1 1/2 cups sunflower seeds, measured dry, soak for at least 4 hours
• 1/2 cup white sesame seeds, measured dry, soak for at least 4 hours
• 4 medium or 6 small carrots, sliced in 2″ pieces
• one bunch of parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, more if needed
• 3/4 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 3 cloves garlic
• juice of one lemon
• 1 cup pitted black olives
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup flax or chia meal for binding

HOW TO:

• In an 8-cup (or larger) food processor, add the seeds, garlic cloves and carrots. Pulse until roughly chopped.
• Add olives, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, salt, parsley, olive oil and lemon juice. Process until blended. Scrape down the sides.
• Sprinkle flax or chia meal and process for 20 seconds.
• Put mixture in a bowl and mix by hand with a spatula.
• Form into falafels (I used a 2-ounce ice scream scoop instead as I was in a hurry) and dehydrate in 145F for the first two hours and 105F for 8-10 hours. It can be served moist too.

Serve with sprouted quinoa, tabbouleh or simple salad or in wraps with garlic sauce (I used coconut yogurt as base instead of tahini). Makes about 39 2-ounce falafels and feed 6-8 hoomans.