Eat Smarter USA | Eat Healthy. Live Smarter.
Ingredients
Falafel with Fresh Salad
- For the salad
- 2 Romaine lettuce
- 250 grams Cherry tomatoes
- 1 Cucumber
- 1 red onion
- 1 handful mint
- 1 handful parsley
- 1 lemon (juiced)
- 4 Tbsps olive oil
- 1 pinch sugar
- salt
- freshly ground peppers
- For the falafel
- salt
- freshly ground peppers
- vegetable oil (for cooking)
For the falafel: soak chickpeas overnight in plenty of cold water.
Peel onion and garlic and chop coarsely. Process in a blender with bread and drained chickpeas. Combine with baking powder, tahini, cumin powder, coriander powder, red pepper, parsley, lemon zest, salt and pepper and mix well. Let rest for 30 minutes, covered.
For the salad: rinse lettuce and chop or tear into smaller pieces. Rinse and halve tomatoes. Peel cucumber and cut into pieces. Peel onion and cut into thin strips. Rinse mint and parsley, shake dry and chop coarsely. Prepare dressing: whisk lemon juice with oil and 2-3 tablespoons of water, season with sugar, salt and pepper. Combine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, herbs and onion. Toss with the dressing and season to taste.
Shape balls from falafel mixture. Heat oil in a wide saucepan and add falafel balls, few at a time. Cook for about 4 minutes or until golden brown, turning for even cooking. Drain on paper towels.
Arrange falafel on plates and serve with salad. If desired, accompany by pita bread and yogurt.
(Percentage of daily recommendation)
| Calorie | 235 cal. | (11 %) | ||
| Protein | 4 g | (4 %) | ||
| Fat | 21 g | (18 %) | ||
| Carbohydrates | 8 g | (5 %) | ||
| Sugar added | 1 g | (4 %) | ||
| Roughage | 4 g | (13 %) |
Healthy, because
Falafel are the classics of Levantine cuisine and are traditionally prepared from chickpeas. The legumes can also curb ravenous appetite: Chinese and Australian researchers found in studies that chick peas can balance blood sugar levels and thus prevent ravenous appetite attacks, because the large amount of dietary fibre that promotes digestion keeps blood sugar levels low and ensures long lasting satiety.
Even smarter
And which side dish goes with falafel with fresh salad? Enjoy flatbread with it. EAT SMARTER's pita breads are also a wonderful accompaniment and are also quickly made!