Vegan Practically

Who says vegans have trouble finding protein? I’m not a recipe blogger but I do like to cook. I have promised to keep the Friday posts light, offering ideas to make veganism seem more approachable and even attractive. So, delivering on that, I’m sharing with you an easy air-fryer falafel recipe I sort of made up this week, with some guidance from the internet.

I felt like falafel for dinner, and I had an open package of tofu in the fridge. If you know anything about falafel, it’s made with chickpeas, not tofu. But as I have discovered, a quick internet search can usually get me some variation of what I’m looking for, so I searched “chickpea tofu falafel” and landed on this “Quick Blender Tofu Chickpea Falafel” from Annelina Waller. Though the recipe looked a bit under-seasoned, it was a great starting point (once I looked up what “TL” means in UK recipes, i.e. teaspoon) and I had most of the ingredients on hand already.

I used my Cuisinart for this, starting with the parsley. Then I threw in the tofu and chickpeas (I did weigh them, and they came out to about a cup each). I had some ground flaxseed in the fridge and added a tablespoon. Instead of veggie broth I used Franks Red Hot (I mean, liquid is liquid, right?). I skipped the garlic because I don’t handle garlic well. Yes to salt and pepper. I looked up “falafel spices” and found this recipe. I didn’t make a batch, but I did toss in some ground cumin and ground coriander. If I had fresh coriander I’d have used some of that.

I pulse-blended it a few times until it was a good consistency for a falafel dough. It was really easy to make the falafel balls out of it and they held together well. My batch made 16 or 17 balls, perfect for my air fryer baking tray. I brushed them with some olive oil and baked them at 350F for about 12 minutes. Then I turned them and raised the heat to 375F for another 10 minutes or so until they go nicely brown. They turned out really well — firm enough to retain their shape. Delicious.

I served them with steamed rapini (broccoli rabe), sliced tomato and cucumber, some tahini and more hot sauce. And they’ve been good for a few meals since then, including a great falafel pita the next day.

My recipe (keeping in mind I’m not a recipe author):

• 1C firm tofu
• 1C chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• 1/2C parsley
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp Frank’s Red Hot sauce

1. If you’re using an oven, pre-heat to 375F (if an air fryer oven, you can turn it on at the last minute if it’s the kind that heats up really quickly)
2. Chop the parsley in the food processor (or blender)
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse a few times until blended into a firm dough.
4. Shape the dough into balls (about 1.5 tablespoons of dough per ball) and set them on a lined / greased baking tray.
5. Brush the tops with a bit of olive oil.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Turn. then bake again for another 10 minutes or so until golden.
7. Enjoy!

Bon appétit!