Baked Falafel

1. Put dry chickpeas in a large bowl and fill with water; enough to cover the chickpeas. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least overnight (although I prefer to refrigerate them at least 24 hours).

2. After the chickpeas have soaked, drain them and place in a large food processor with all of the remaining ingredients. Process until all ingredients have combined to form a thick paste. The mixture should stick together when you pinch some together with your fingers. If it’s too coarse, add a bit of water or olive oil until the mixture holds together. Too runny? Add a bit more flour!

3. Preheat oven to 475 F. Using a spoon or a small cookie scoop, scoop some falafel mixture into a greased mini-muffin tin. I like the mini-muffin size because they fit more easily into a pita pocket, but a regular muffin tin would work just fine. Recipe makes a lot—roughly 48 mini falafels.

4. Brush the top of each falafel scoop with olive oil (or spray with some cooking spray) and place on the top shelf of a 475 F oven (the super hot temperature will help them get super crispy!) and bake 15-25 minutes or until falafels have browned and crisped up nicely.

5. Dip falafel in a sauce of choice or stuff 3 or 4 falafels in a pita pocket with some Greek yogurt, lettuce and tomato (I love these falafels in a pita!)

6. Refrigerate any leftover falafel mixture for up to a week. Pop it in the oven anytime for a quick lunch or dinner!