Sometimes a recipe just comes together first time, and this is one of those times.
This recipe has ‘salad’ in the title, but the hearty raw falafels, parsnip rice and cashew sauces make this is more of a main meal.
I wanted to make a raw falafel recipe that didn’t rely on nuts as the base ingredient, so I sprouted up some chickpeas to see how they’d fair with a little ground almond for extra fluffiness.
Once dehydrated the chickpeas take on a much less distinct flavour, but if it’s still not doing if for you – or whoever you’re serving to – I recommend steaming the sprouted chickpeas for 5 to 7 minutes. This way you’re getting the best of both worlds by lightly cooking. This can also help with digestion, because some people have trouble with raw chickpeas.
I’ve served here with Raw Parsnip Rice, and Cashew Sour Cream. The red Cashew Sour Cream is made by adding a little red bell pepper, chilli powder and paprika (a some cumin if you fancy it).
Raw Falafel
Nutrition (For one serving)
Ingredients
- 1 cup chickpeas (soaked and sprouted – will be 2 cups after sprouting)
- 1/4 onion roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp parsley
- 2 tbsp cilantro (fresh coriander)
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ teaspoon chili powder (I like chipotle)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander (coriander powder)
- ¼ cup ground almonds
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp tahini
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Grind all ingredients in a food processor until broken down and mixture holds together when pressed.
- Use a ¼ cup measure to portion out mixture on to a nonstick sheet. This should give you around 7 portions, which you’ll then cut in half, so you have 14 portions.
- Roll all 14 into balls and dehydrate at 115F for 6 to 10 hours, depending on how dry you want them.
- Serve with salad, parsnip rice and cashew sour cream.
Rachel says
Thank you for this recipe, Russell! It’s great to find raw recipes that are less calorie dense and that don’t rely on nuts as the main ingredients. I followed the recipe exactly using a food processor and it turned out well. The mixture was so tasty I couldn’t resist eating some before it was dehydrated. I promptly made a second batch with some extra sprouted chickpeas I was saving for a different recipe!
Russell James says
Lovely 🙂
It’s so tempting to eat the mixture before it’s done haha
Daniela Withaar says
DO NOT ADD ANY WATER. I followed the recipe exactly (using a vitamix) and added the water. My mixture was like a smoothie…. I had to dump a ton of oat flour into it so that I could make it into a mush. There was still no way I could roll it into balls…. 🙁
Russell James says
Hey Daniela. I just had a look at this recipe after your comment and I think you must have been off with the measurements somewhere.
There’s no way 2 cups of chickpeas and half a cup of water makes a smoothie consistency. Especially with the addition of the other items, including the 1/4 cup ground almonds. In fact I’d go so far as to say you’d have trouble getting the mixture moving at all in a Vitmix because it would be too dry for that, which is why I suggest a food processor.
Are you saying you didn’t add any water over the 1/2 cup in the recipe?
Susan Sanders says
I am making the raw falafel salad and ran into a snag. I tried soaking and sprouting the chickpeas without success. Twice now. They never sprouted and turned rancid. So, I am using
organic canned chickpeas instead. My question is now that they are cooked already do I still do the dehydrator process or put them in the oven? Also, the mixture is very runny so I
added more almond flour to the mix.
Russell James says
Sounds like you didn’t have great chickpeas; it’s difficult to know without knowing your full process.
The falafel go into the dehydrator to firm up, so yes, they should still go in.
Menkit Prince says
Delicious recipe – thanks Russell!
Russell James says
Thanks, Menkit 🙂
Jesse-Gabriel says
oh so ein tolles Rezept, ich werde es ganz bald nachmachen, danke!
Ich kaufe Kichererbsen im Bio Laden dort steht auf vielen Sorten extra drauf, keimfähig.
Viele Grüße sendet
Jesse-Gabriel aus Berlin
Lorri Lynn Wilson says
Are you purchasing special beans to sprout like this? Can you sprout most beans and eat them raw? I don’t eat chickpeas. Can I do this with Pink Or Roman Beans that I buy at the grocery store?
Russell James says
Yes, I just buy dry chickpeas and soak/sprout them. Not all beans can be eaten raw like this, no. Kidney beans, for example have to be cooked or they are toxic.