Pistachio Falafel with Butter Bean + Artichoke Dip
Recipe:
BAKED PISTACHIO FALAFELS
with BUTTER BEAN, ARTICHOKE + PRESERVED LEMON DIP
PLANT-BASED | GLUTEN FREE
Total time: 45mins
Serves: 2-4
Like most, we’re obsessed with pistachio. But beyond our go-to flavour for gelato, we’re also big fans of pistachio in savoury food. Even a sprinkle of toasted pistachio over a simple rocket salad makes such a difference. These pistachio falafels have been in our recipe rotation since we launched our first pop-up in old street in 2016, and we love making a batch just as much to this day. Here we’ve served them with our fanciest houmous recipe - butter bean, artichoke and preserved lemon.
INGREDIENTS
Butter bean dip:
1 400g tin butter beans, drained
1 280g jar artichoke hearts in olive oil
1 clove raw garlic, peeled
3 tbsp tahini
1 preserved lemon OR 1tsp of preserved lemon paste
1 tsp sea salt
Pinch of black pepper
Roasted pistachios to finish
Pistachio falafel:
8 sprigs of fresh mint
8 sprigs of fresh parsley
200 g pistachio nuts
2 cups chickpeas
4 cloves garlic
½ small red onion, finely sliced
90ml olive oil
2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp flour (we used buckwheat flour for GF)
2 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp salt
METHOD
To make the falafel:
1. Add the mint and parsley to a blender and pulse/blend for about 30 seconds until they’re finely chopped. Add pistachio nuts and pulse until well combined.
2. Rinse and drain your chickpeas and add them to the blender along with the rest of the ingredients. Blend for about 1 minute - you still want the mixture to be slightly chunky rather than completely smooth.
3. Shape them into small balls (we tend to get about 12 from this quantity), place on a lined baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes on 200°C, turning half way through for even colour throughout. They might still seem a little soft when you take them out of the oven but will harden as they cool - this is key to keeping them soft and not too dry!
To make the houmous:
1. Add everything except the pistachio to the blender and blend until smooth
2. Decant into a bowl to serve and sprinkle with toasted pistachio