Ingredients
- 1 cup sesame seeds
- 1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1⁄2 cups carrot pulp from juicing, or 1 1⁄2 cups finely grated carrot, squeezed firmly between paper towels to remove excess moisture
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
- 2 tablespoons flax meal
- 1⁄4 cup fresh curly parsley
For the Tangy Tahini Sauce
- 1⁄2 cup water
- 1⁄4 cup tahini
- 1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar or pure maple syrup
Directions
- Grind the sesame seeds and sea salt in a food processor until finely ground.
- Add the carrot pulp, garlic, lemon, cumin, if using, and flax, along with 1⁄3 cup of water. Process until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the parsley to the processor and pulse to combine.
- Shape the mixture into twelve small patties. Dehydrate at 115 degrees F for 6 hours, flipping once through.Alternate version: Alternatively, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Bake the falafel for 15 minutes. Flip and cook for another 10 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides. Top with tangy tahini sauce, and serve.Storage tip: Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, both dehydrated and baked falafel will keep for up to 4 days. They can also be frozen.For the Tangy Tahini Sauce
- Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend and serve.Storage tip: Tahini dressing will keep for a week in the fridge and can also be served over salads, with raw veggies, and warm grains.
More from Choosing Raw
• Banana Almond Coconut Raw-nola Recipe• Raw Ratatouille Recipe
Reprinted with permission from Choosing Raw: Making Raw Foods Part of the Way You Eat by Gena Hamshaw and published by Da Capo Lifelong Press, 2014. You can purchase this book from the Mother Earth Living store: Choosing Raw.
Choosing Raw by Gena Hamshaw (Da Capo Press, 2014) is bursting with delicious and healthful recipes, nourishing nutrition advice, and tons of tips to incorporate raw foods into your daily meals.The following recipe uses carrots and flax meal instead of traditional chickpeas as a base for this gluten-free falafel.
You can purchase this book from the Mother Earth Living store: Choosing Raw.
Falafel is one of my favorite foods, but I often find that it’s too greasy when prepared conventionally. These falafel, which I first created when I had a ton of pulp left over from making carrot juice, impart all the wonderful flavor of regular falafel, minus the deep frying. Once you make the falafel, you can use them in pita, pile them into romaine leaves, put them on your salads, or snack on them as they are. And this is one of those recipes where there’s little difference between the dehydrator version and the baked version, so no need to fear if you don’t have a dehydrator at home!
