The Best Waffle Falafel Recipe

The Best "Waffle" Falafel

Ever wonder what you could make with a Belgian Waffle Maker besides Belgian Waffles? I was looking for ideas and was inspired by a blog called Waffleizer.  Among the many interesting mash-up ideas, I found the "Falafel Waffle", waffle shape and texture with amazing falafel flavor.  This was intriguing to me because 1) Let's face it, falafel eating is pretty messy trying to stuff everything into a pita pocket with hummus and all the other spreads and 2) I was looking to reduce oil in our cooking, so would the Falafel Waffle taste good without frying it?

I was excited to try the recipe in Waffleizer,  but truth be told the result was not too keen on the "course, dryer texture" of the Falafel Waffle. It was pretty much just falafel mix prepped and then spread into the waffle iron.  I was expecting something more waffle like in texture with the flavors of a falafel. So after creative research and some trial and error, I came up with this alternate recipe which I call "Waffle Falafel" because I prefer Fluffy, cake like waffle like consistency with the amazing flavors of a traditional falafel and not just falafel mix in waffle form. (It will make sense if you try both recipes)
 
Low Fat Waffle Falefel Recipe

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo Bean Flour
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Baking Soda
1/4 Cup Ground Flax Seed
1/4 cup Fresh Parsley (Flat) - Finely Chopped or Immersion Blender
2-3 Sprigs Fresh Mint - Finely Chopped or Immersion Blender
 ½ tsp Cumin, ground
¼ tsp Coriander, ground
½ tsp Garlic Powder
¼ tsp Onion Powder
1 Lemon - Juice - Remove seeds
2/3 cup Hot Water

Prepare all dry ingredients before adding lemon juice and hot water.
Mix until batter is formed.
Preheat Waffle Maker and lightly spray with cooking oil
Spread mixture evenly on waffle iron and and cook for 4 minutes or until waffle releases.

The best part about eating the Waffle Falafel is that you can put the spreads (hummus, yogurt, avocado, tzaziki, baba ghanoush, etc) into the waffle valleys nicely and provides a great platform for other toppings (tomatoes, cucumbers, olives mint, etc) 

Pita is optional, so this recipe can be completely vegan and gluten free!

Hummus Crab Cakes

Hummus Crab Cakes served with Fresh Avocado

While vacationing in Ocean City Maryland this summer, we came across Rippons Seafood, a local institution for fresh steamed crabs by the dozen, fresh seafood and specialties like crab deviled eggs. They sold crab cakes at $8 each and I thought to myself...how hard could this be to make this at our rental? So we bought a pint of fresh lump crab instead and proceeded to make these lower fat but just as tasty version of the Maryland classic. Since I didn't want to buy a large jar of mayonnaise for the little amount we would need for the recipe, I decided to substitute with hummus as the binder. Hummus is super viscose, so we didn't need the egg either! Alas, the hummus crab cake was born.

Amazingly, they were such a hit with the family that I ended up buying 2 more pints and transporting them to Long Island for a 2nd round of homemade hummus crab cakes!

1 Pint Fresh Lump Crab (Fresh, local and wild caught if you can get it for best texture/flavor) 
1/2 pint of Hummus (Either pre-packaged or homemade)
1 whole shallot finely chopped
1 cup of fresh parsley finely chopped
1/4 cup of ground flax seed
Juice of 1 fresh lime
1/2 Teaspoon of Paprika
1/2 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Fresh ground pepper
1/2 Teaspoon of Sriracha
1/2 Teaspoon of Dijon Mustard
4 pieces of Whole Wheat Bread - Toasted and coarsely grated/chopped into coarse crumbs

Bonus! Southeast Asian Version: (Add the following to above ingredients)
1/2 Shredded Unsweetened Coconut
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro or thai basil.

Mix all ingredients except crab until well mixed
Add lump crab until well mixed and form crab cakes into palm sized circles and flatten slightly.
Spray non-stick frying pan with sunflower oil (or 1 teaspoon if no sprayer)
Fry at medium low for about 3-4 minutes each side until golden brown.

Serve with lemon slices and fresh avocado.

Sunday Sauce - Polpette e Salsiccia al Sugo

Sunday Sauce is an Italian Tradition that I learned while studying in Italy.
Slow cooking over low heat all day is the key to maximum flavor. (You can cheat with a pressure cooker or slow cooker) 

Healthy Challenge: Maximize flavor without Ground Beef and Pork for the meatballs. I substituted Ground Turkey, lots of garlic and lots of fresh herbs including Thyme. I did use Italian Pork Sausages by request of my family, but you could use Italian style chicken sausages instead. 

Vegan? You could also sub with Tempeh/Walnut Balls for the Ground Meat Version for a vegan treat. You will also need nutritional yeast and cashew for the parmesan substitute.


Polpette - Meatballs
2 cups - Stale Bread Chunks - (Cut in 1x1cm cubes, leave exposed to air for 2 hours)
3/4 cup Almond or Soy Milk -(Soak Bread Chunks in Milk prior to adding remaining ingredients)
1 lb Ground Turkey 
1 egg
1/2 of Herb Blend (See Below)
1 TSP Sea Salt
1/2 Fresh ground pepper.

Fresh Herb Blend  
Blend in Food Processor until finely chopped. Use 1/2 for Meatballs and 1/2 for Sugo.
1/2 Onion
6 cloves roasted garlic
6 cloves raw garlic
1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley
1 TBSP Fresh Oregano
1 TBSP Fresh Thyme
1/2 Cup Fresh Basil
2/3 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese.

Sugo
1 TBSP Olive Oil
1/2 of Fresh Herb Blend (See above)
2 Medium Carrots (Finely Chopped or Food Processor to Fine texture)
2 Medium Celery (Finely Chopped or Food Processor to Fine texture)
1/4 Cup of Vodka
2 Box Chopped Tomatoes
1 Box Strained Tomatoes

Salsiccia
3 Sausages - Roasted with 1/2 Onion.

Saute Sugo ingredients until translucent ( 1/4 vodka or red wine optional)
pour in chopped and strained tomatoes and stir until well blended.
Put roasted sausages in bottom of sauce pot.
Make Polpette by hand mixing ingredients together and forming golf ball sized meatballs.
Put into the sugo to cook at low/warm for 2-3 hours.
Right before serving, cut sausage links and return to sauce.

Serve over fresh pasta or polenta.
Garnish with Chopped Fresh Parsley/Basil .