Steel Cut Oat Falafel
Mary Catherine Tee
- Serves
- 8
If you're like me, you bought a bag of steel cut oats ages ago with every intention of taking the time to make a bowl, but in the morning, you grab for the rolled oats instead because they're fast. This steel cut oat falafel uses the oats and, of course, chickpeas for a perfectly crunchy, textured ball of goodness.
Ingredients
For the falafel
- 1 1/2 cup dried gorbanzo beans, soaked overnight
- 2/3 cup steel cut oats, soaked overnight
- 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- Juice of 1/2 lemon+ more to taste
- Pita Bread
- Oil for frying
For the Sauce
- 8 ounce plain yogurt
- 1/2 English cucumber, peeled and diced
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro (+more for garnish)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Garnish: prepared hummus, shredded lettuce, diced red onion, diced tomato, and pepperoncinis
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Directions
Instructions
- Step 1
The night before, soak 1½ cups dried chickpeas in water. In a separate bowl, cover ⅔ cups steel cut oats with water; let sit overnight.
- Step 2
Before preparing falafel, mix plain yogurt, the English cucumber, fresh cilantro, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp garlic powder, and ¼ tsp onion powder. Let sit for flavors to marry as you prepare the falafel. The longer it sits, the better.
- Step 3
Fit your food processor with the steel mixing blade. In the bowl of processor, measure 2½ cups soaked chickpeas, ⅔ cups steel cut oats,chopped red onion, garlic cloves, fresh parsley,fresh cilantro, cumin, salt, cayenne, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Turn food processor on low and mix until contents begin to stick together; go beyond a rice texture, but don't quite blend to a paste. You want it to have a nice, full falafel texture.
- Step 4
Once everything is mixed, test a small bit of the batter by rolling into a ball the size of a ping pong ball. If it's too dry and the ball does not hold its shape, add a little bit of the oat water from the bowl and incorporate into the mixture. This will help it stick together. Roll the mixture evenly into balls and place on a plate. Once balls are rolled, place plate in the refrigerator.
- Step 5
Meanwhile, pour about 3 inches of vegetable oil in a skillet. Heat over high until oil reaches 375 degrees. Remove falafel from fridge and carefully add to hot oil. Cook, 6 balls at a time, until falafel turns golden brown, about 45 seconds a batch. Make sure your oil stays hot so the falafel balls fry evenly. When done, put on a paper towel covered plate.
- Step 6
Serve falafel when it's hot by spreading a generous amount of prepared hummus in a pita, add shredded lettuce, diced red onion, diced tomato, and falafel. Drizzle with cucumber-yogurt sauce, top with a pepperoncini and enjoy!