This is one of my favorite dishes to make on “Meatless Monday”. It is packed with hearty goodness that makes you forget all about meat. To celebrate National Zucchini Day (August 8th), I decided to make some zucchini packed falafel. Since you can’t have falafel without something “breaded” or crunchy on the outside, I decided to roll my falafel balls in a mixture of mashed corn flakes and crispy quinoa cereal.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups grated zucchini
2 cups garbanzo beans (drained)
2 garlic cloves
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/2 bunch Italian Parsley
3 scallions
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups crushed corn flakes and/or crispy quinoa cereal
coconut oil (for greasing the pan)
DIRECTIONS:
Drain the garbanzo beans and put them in the food processor.
Process until the beans are no longer whole, but still a little chunky.
Add in garlic, cilantro, parsley, lemon juice, scallions, and the rest of the seasonings. Continue to process until the mixture is fully combined.
In a large bowl, grate the zucchini. Add in the salt and let sit for 20 minutes.
Next, place the zucchini into 3 layers of paper towels, or a cheese cloth, and extract the water. Also, discard any water that may have been left in the bowl. Falafel needs to be as dry as possible, otherwise, it will fall apart while cooking.
Mix in the garbanzo mixture with the zucchini.
Form into balls and coat with corn flake mixture.
Place the balls into cupcake pan (which has been greased with coconut oil).
Bake at 400 F, for 50 minutes. If the balls still seem a little under-cooked, keep them in for an extra 10 minutes. They should be a nice golden brown.
Serve with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and hummus. You can also cut them in half and place inside of a pita. The possibilities are endless!!