If you live in the Middle East, then you are more than likely to have come across Falafel in one form or the other. It’s most popular form is a deep fried patty made with ground chickpeas. Having tried several versions around town, I’m especially in love with Barsalata’s falafel muffin. I mean, look at this beauty.
It costs only AED 20 for 2 pieces and it is served with a cashew “sour cream”, but I always ask for their date mustard dressing because the combination is insanely good as its sweet, but with a little bit of a kick.
I was so inspired by this dish, that I’ve taken all its distinct flavors and transformed mine into a fragrant, airy loaf. If you’re an experimenter in the kitchen, then this dish is for you. It does have quite a number of ingredients but the results are worth it. I make mine over the weekend and have it wrapped in the fridge, and a thick chunky slice is more than enough for breakfast! So it’s great time saver for meal prep as well.
Contains 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup chickpea flour
- 1 cup fine almond meal
- ¼ cup potato starch
- ¼ cup ground flax meal
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 5 large eggs, separated
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp. chili flakes
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 1 lemon, juiced
- ½ cup parsley, chopped
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- *Seeds To Top
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan with coconut oil.
- In a large bowl, combine the chickpea flour, almond meal, flaxmeal, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt, then mix to combine.
- In a high-speed blender, add the olive oil, egg yolks, garlic, onion, chili, black pepper, parsley and cilantro and pulse until smoothly blended. Add the wet mixture to the dry and fold in gently to combine.
- Beat the egg whites until light and fluffy and then add to the loaf mixture in 3 parts, taking care not to deflate the air.
- Pour into the greased loaf pan. Top with mixed seeds for a prettier loaf, bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then cool the rest of the way on a rack.Use a sharp bread knife to slice to desired thickness.
Serve with roasted pepper spread or with almond butter and honey for something sweet.