Yes, I have created ANOTHER epic recipe using chickpeas! Chickpeas are one of my favourite ingredients to cook (and bake!) using, and as I’ve been ‘meal prepping’ for college quite a bit this semester, I have tried to keep things fresh and inventive with new recipes each week. This is definitely one of my favourites to date, and it goes really well with my other new recipe from this week – my Cinnamon & Honey Roast Sweet Potatoes! I know you’re gonna love these – they’re a great make-ahead recipe especially for lunches, and can easily be batch made and stored for a busy week ahead!

Recipe (Makes 11-12 Falafels)

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and diced
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 tsp mild chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 medium aubergine
• 2 tbsp of tahini
• 3 tbsp of chickpea (or gram) flour – oat flour can be subbed in here!
• 1 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• Seasoning with a pinch of sea salt and a twist of black pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C (fan oven) and line a baking tray with tinfoil.
2. Slice the aubergine in half (lengthways) and slice the flesh of each half in a deep criss-cross pattern. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top of each half. When the oven is ready, roast the aubergine halves for 35-40 minutes until the flesh is well-softened.
3. Then, remove the tray from the oven and set aside to allow it to cool a little.
4. Pop everything else into your blender cup – chickpeas, spices, seasoning, olive oil, garlic, tahini and lemon juice.
5. Taking care with the heat from the flesh, scoop out the aubergine flesh from each half and add it to the blender cup mix. You could add the skin too but I would slice it up into small pieces first so it blends easier!
6. Blitz everything up (except the flour!), and then pour the mixture into a mixing bowl.
7. Add the flour, one tablespoon at a time, and stir to mix it in after each.
8. Scoop spoonfuls of the falafel mix out of the bowl and pop each onto the baking tray, flattening the scoops out into more burger/patty shapes.
9. Bake the falafels in the oven for 30 minutes, and then remove from the oven, allowing them to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the tray.
10. You can store these in the fridge for about 5 days, or freeze them!

Enjoy guys! Tag me if you try this one out – @theirishbalance on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook!

Ciara 🙂