FALAFEL SLIDERS - The Kitchy Kitchen

I did a cleanse recently through Renew Juicery, and my favorite part of it, other than the delicious juices, were the amazing 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. These are also fabulous party appetizers, as they’re about slider size.

INGREDIENTS

For 12 small Falafel Burgers

1 1/4 cups dried chickpeas (7 ounces) or 2 cups canned chickpeas

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion (1 small onion)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

pinch of ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

grapeseed oil for frying

TOPPINGS

Grain Free Buns (recipe below)

Chipotle Tahini (recipe below)

Spinach

Sprouts

DIRECTIONS

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 1/2 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 grainfree bun and enjoy!

INGREDIENTS (GRAIN FREE BUNS)

For 12 buns

1 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup raw almonds

2 tablespoons chia seed

3 tablespoon organic coconut oil, melted

1½ tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon harissa

2 1/2 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

DIRECTIONS

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 1/4 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 degrees F and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until golden brown and firm.

Let cool at room temperature before slicing (important).