Description
If you haven’t made falafel yet, now’s the time. You’ll love the addition of sweet pistachios in these Pistachio Chickpea Falafel.
Ingredients
Scale
For the falafel:
- 1 cup dried chickpeas *(note these need to be soaked overnight, see below)
- ¾ cup shelled Wonderful pistachios
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
For the tahini-yogurt sauce:
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest + 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon water
- pinch cayenne pepper
For serving:
- 3 whole grain pitas, toasted and halved
- tomatoes, chopped
- cucumber, thinly sliced
Instructions
To prepare the chickpeas:
- Soak chickpeas in water overnight or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
To prepare the falafel:
- The following day, drain and rinse chickpeas.
- Add the chickpeas to the bowl of a large food processor, along with the pistachios, garlic, onion, cardamom, coriander, cumin and salt. Pulse a few times, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the parsley. Process until mixture is crumbly and fine, but not smooth like a paste. (It should be able to stick together when shaped into a patty.)
- Shape the chickpea mixture into 18 small patties.
- Set a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add half of the oil. Once hot, add half of the falafel and cook 5 minutes on each side, adjusting heat, if necessary, to prevent burning. Repeat with remaining oil and falafel.
While falafel are baking, make the sauce:
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, yogurt, garlic and water. Set aside.
To serve:
- Place falafel in pitas, top with yogurt-tahini sauce, tomatoes and cucumber.
Notes
Don’t have time to soak the chickpeas? Well, at least try to! 🙂 But you could also make the same recipe as above, but swap in two cans of garbanzo beans for the 1 cup of dried chickpeas.