Lunch/Dinner Recipe 14: Beetroot and Quinoa Falafels

Falafels without chickpeas probably sounds like a bit of an oxymoron to any Middle-Eastener, but fortunately the spice mixture in this recipe seems to make up for the lack of chickpeas. Needless to say that normal falafels are indeed detox (as long as you make sure that the version you have does not have normal flour in them) but it is not something I would recommend eating all the time since the oil-frying does leave them slightly on the unhealthy side. Nevertheless, these are delicious and a nice treat to have - great as the main ingredient for a dinner or as a snack during the day.

Ingredients (making 15-20 falafels)
½ cup quinoa, boiled as per instructions in earlier posted recipes (I used a mix of red and white quinoa)
1 large beetroot, raw and finely grated
½-1 carrot, raw and finely grated
A large handful of flatleafed parsley
A large handful of fresh coriander
1 large close of garlic
½ red onion
5 spring onion
2 tblsp ground cumin
Salt and pepper
Gram flour or sesame seeds for rolling the falafels
Vegetable oil for frying

Put the flatleafed parsley, coriander, garlic, onion and spring onion in a food processor and blitz until it is all finely chopped and mixed well together. In a separate bowl mix quinoa, beetroot, carrot and add the mixture from the food processor and the spices. Form the mixture into small balls and roll them in either gram flour or sesame seeds.

For the frying, if you don't have a proper fryer, put about 5cm/2 inches of oil into a pot and warm so that when you put a small piece of vegetable into the oil it sizzles but doesn't 'go ballistic'. For those with a proper fryer, 180C or 350F would be a good temperature to cook the falafels at. Put the falafels in the hot oil and cook for app. 5 minutes or until they look golden. Put them on a piece of paper towel when they are finished to allow for the excess oil to be absorbed.

Those who would prefer avoiding fried food, you could probably form the mixture into paddies and cook on a non-stick frying pan with a small amount oil.

Serve with hummus and a salad.