Baked Falafel Loaf with Tarator Sauce

Love falafel, but hate to deep fry? Then this one’s for you!

It’s got all the yummy and protein-y goodness of a falafel, minus the deep frying. It’s super easy to whip up if you’ve got a food processor. It is delicious. (this photo doesn’t do it justice; I’ve made this a number of times, and we end up eating it before I remember to take a photo. So finally I got this shot, not the best, but not nothing.)

I served it with a tomato and cucumber salad on the side, and my guest made it into a pita sandwich – both were delicious! In my opinion it must be served with this delicious tarator sauce, but maybe you have your own favourite.

This recipe came from the awesome cookbook called Taste of Beirut by Joumana Accad. I’ve taken it out of the library so many times and tried a whole bunch of recipes, and I think I finally need to buy this book!

The recipe says to serve at room temperature, but it was also good straight out of the oven. I didn’t change much with this recipe, just the order in which the ingredients are added to the food processor. The most recent batch I made I halved the recipe, using one egg. It was plenty for dinner for two plus leftovers – love leftovers!

What you need for the loaf:

• 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 3 large eggs
• 1/ 2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 1 cup flat leaf parsley
• 1 cup cilantro (I like to use the stems too)
• 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika or Aleppo pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

What you need for the tarator sauce:

• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup water
• salt to taste

What you do for the loaf:

1. Heat the oven to 375F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Add the chickpeas, eggs, bread crumbs, onions, parsley, cilantro and garlic to the bowl of the food processor and process until the mixture becomes doughy.
3. Add the baking powder, seasonings and olive oil and process again until all the ingredients are combined.
4. Spread the mixture into the lined loaf pan and even out the top surface a little.
5. Bake for about 35 minutes, then check to see if it is done; mine needed more time. You will know when it is done if a knife inserted in the centre comes out pretty much clean.
6. While the loaf is baking you can make the sauce.

What you do for the sauce:

1. Mix the garlic in with the tahini.
2. Add a little bit of lemon juice and mix well. Add lemon juice and water a little at at time until the sauce is creamy but not too runny.
3. Add salt to taste.
4. Enjoy!!