Falafel Bowl

I love falafels! I remember the first time my friend Brooke made them for me. Man, I was pretty skeptical. I mean, she poured this green powder stuff out of a box, mixed it into a dough, rolled it into balls, cooked them, and then tried to feed it to me. I must say though, the flavor was amazing and I have been a fan of those green balls wrapped in pita ever since. However, between the bread and the frying, they aren't that great for you or your figure. I've made falafels before and have just baked them but they can be a bit time consuming to make from scratch. So needless to say, when I saw this deconstructed version, I was all over it. After all, the less work I have to do in the kitchen, the happier I am.

Now the original recipe says to make a pretty bowl by sectioning off all the ingredients in the bowl. I have to admit, I don't understand that method. While it is pretty for pictures, it will cause a mess when you try to mix it all together. So, mine looks a bit different from the original since I made mine into a more manageable salad style than the nicer looking version. I made about 3 cups of cooked quinoa since I wanted leftovers. There is no right or wrong way to do this. It's pretty much a recipe where you add however much you want of each ingredient. As you see in the pictures, each bowl was different depending on what the person wanted in their falafel bowl. 

recipes adapted from VeganYackAttack & Guy Fieri

FALAFEL BOWL INGREDIENTS

• Falafel Roasted Chickpeas (recipe below)
• Cooked Quinoa
• Lettuce, shredded
• Cucumber, sliced
• Tomatoes, sliced
• Hummus
• Yogurt sauce (recipe below)
• Hot sauce

FALAFEL ROASTED CHICKPEAS

• 3 cups chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ cup red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1½ teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• Pinch of cayenne
• Pinch of cardamom
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley

YOGURT SAUCE

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro leaves
• 2 teaspoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• Kosher salt, as needed

Roasted Chickpeas

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Rinse and drain the chickpeas and place them in a large bowl.
3. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne and cardamom to the bowl and toss until all the chickpeas have been evenly coated.
4. Turn the chickpeas out onto the prepared baking sheet and spread them out into one even layer.
5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring once halfway between roasting.
6. Allow to cool slightly and toss with the fresh parsley.

Yogurt Sauce

1. Mix the yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, cilantro, parsley and cumin together in a small bowl. Add salt to taste. Chill until ready to use.

Bowl Assembly

1. To assemble the bowl, add some of the quinoa, then add a handful of shredded lettuce, then the chickpeas, some cucumber and tomato, and a dollop of hummus. Drizzle the whole bowl in yogurt sauce and add some hot sauce if desired.