Green Pea Falafel
This recipe is from our cookbook, The Balanced Table. Get your copy here for over 90 more recipes!
These vibrant, crunchy morsels are a twist on the classic, with frozen peas adding a pop of colour and taste. Perfect for jazzing up a Mezze platter alongside hummus, olives, and grilled veggies or stuffing into a pitta. Whip up a batch, and watch them vanish—these green gems are ridiculously tasty but we’ll let you be the judge of that.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup frozen peas
1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1⁄4 cup wholemeal flour or almond meal
1⁄2 tsp chilli flakes
1 cup combined fresh herbs (dill and parsley, finely chopped)
1 tsp olive oil for the mixture, plus extra for brushing
sesame seeds for topping
salt and pepper to taste
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Begin by thawing the frozen peas and draining the chickpeas. Place both in a food processor along with cumin, onion powder, wholemeal flour or almond meal, salt, pepper, chilli flakes, and chopped herbs.
Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and blend everything until it forms a thick green paste, ensuring the mixture holds together well enough to form balls.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Take the green paste and roll it into balls, placing them on the prepared baking tray. Brush each falafel ball with olive oil and sprinkle sesame seeds generously on top.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the falafels are golden and crispy on the outside.
Serve the baked falafels warm with tzatziki or as part of a Mediterranean platter.
NUTRITION TIP
Chickpeas are a rich source of dietary fibre, particularly soluble fibre. Soluble fibre dissolves in water to form a gel-like substance in the digestive tract, which slows down the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, including sugars. This process results in a more gradual rise in blood sugar levels after meals, helping to sustain energy levels for a longer period.