Falafel (vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free)

This recipe was so easy and so good. It recommends making it in a food processor (which I don't have) so I did it in my blendtec. I added a little bit of olive oil to the falafel so it would blend better and we used tapioca flour instead of wheat flour. This gave the falafel a spongy texture sort of like Brazilian cheese bread. We also only lightly fried the falafel. When I make it again I will form them into patties instead of balls so the sides get more fried.



Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, drained (garbanzo beans)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 T chopped parsley
1/4 cup cilantro
1 t salt
2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 t cumin
1 t baking powder
1/3 cup tapioca flour*
Oil for frying

Preparation:
Blend together all ingredients but flour. Transfer ingredients to bowl and mix in flour till mixture doesn't stick to sides of the bowl.
Fill bottom of skillet with oil. Heat over medium-high heat. Form falafel mixture into patties and top into pan. Cover with lid. Flip when crispy. Drain on paper towels.

We served ours with basmati rice seasoned with turmeric, cilantro, garlic and salt, as well as hummus and pitas (for Sam).

These aren't very good as leftovers so if you don't want to make all of the mixture don't fry it all.

*you can use regular flour if you're a wheat eater. You'll just get a different texture.

Recipe modified from www.epicurious.com