Roasted Vegetable Baked Falafel Sandwiches
Although these shortcut falafel aren’t as crispy as the classic fried variety, they develop a nice golden crust and contain all the key spices. A zippy roasted pepper salad is the perfect foil inside a pita pocket, and creamy tahini sauce (aka tarator sauce) ties it all together.
Ingredients
FOR FALAFEL:
- 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for baking sheet
- 1 (15-oz.) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and dried well
- 1 c. fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp. ground cumin
- 2 tsp. ground coriander
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
FOR ROASTED RED PEPPER SALAD:
- 2 bell peppers (red, orange, or yellow), cut into ¾” strips
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, cut into ½” wedges
- 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 c. cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
- 1/4 c. cornichons or dill pickle slices
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
FOR TAHINI SAUCE:
- 1/4 c. tahini
- 1/4 c. water
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced
- Kosher salt
FOR SERVING:
- 4 pitas, warmed
Instructions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 425° and brush a baking sheet with about 2 teaspoons olive oil.
Step 2
Make falafel: Add all falafel ingredients to a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground, scraping down sides of bowl with a spatula and reprocessing as needed to make sure everything is combined. Don’t overprocess–you are looking for a bit of texture.
Step 3
Use your hands, form mixture into 16 heaping tablespoon-sized balls and place on baking sheet.
Step 4
Roast vegetables: On a separate baking sheet, toss peppers and onions with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper.
Step 5
Bake falafel and vegetables for 10 minutes, then remove from oven. Use a spatula to flip each falafel, and stir peppers. Return to oven until falafel are golden on both sides and peppers and onions are tender, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let falafel cool at least 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet.
Step 6
Meanwhile, make tahini sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together all tahini sauce ingredients and season to taste with salt.
Step 7
Make roasted pepper salad: Add cilantro, pickles, and lemon juice to baking sheet with roasted vegetables and toss to combine.
Step 8
Build sandwiches: To serve: Cut off the top ⅕ of each pita and spread a thin layer of tahini sauce on the inside of each. Divide salad and falafel evenly between sandwiches.
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