Green Falafels

Green Falafels, inspired by Aarti Seqeuira from Food Network, are a twist on the typical fried falafel. Typically, falafels are made with chickpeas but in this recipe they are replaced with green peas (hence the name) and baked to crispy perfection. The falafels end up looking slightly strange but are absolutely delicious. If you don't want to grind the spices yourself, you could substitute with ground spices, however, the freshly toasted seeds add a ton of flavor.

Green Falafels
Gluten Free
Serves Four

Ingredients--
Falafels:
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. coriander seeds
3/4 cup fresh parsley
2 cups frozen peas, thawed and drained
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup gluten free flour mix
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Sea Salt

Yogurt Sauce:
1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
Sea Salt

Optional-- Gluten Free Pitas/Tortillas

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray .

2. Place a small skillet over medium low heat. Add the fennel and coriander seeds, and toast for 2 minutes or until fragrant, and slightly darker in color. Stir seeds constantly while toasting.

3. Remove seeds from pan and use a mortar and pestle or spice grinder to grind the seeds.

4. Place the ground spices, fresh parsley, peas, shallot, garlic, and salt into a food processor. Pulse until mixture begins to puree and hold together but is still slightly chunky.

5. Transfer puree to a large bowl and stir in the flour.

6. Form mixture into golf-ball sized patties and place on prepared baking sheet (you should have about 12 patties). Bake in the oven until falafels are beginning to crisp and turn golden brown, 15-20 minutes.

7. While the falafels are baking, make the yogurt sauce by stirring together the yogurt, finely chopped parsley leaves and a generous pinch of sea salt in a small mixing bowl.

8. Allow falafels to cool slightly before serving. Top with yogurt sauce, and tomatoes and enjoy on their own or stuffed into a pita.

Nutrition Information--approximately 135 calories per serving (1/4 of the patties; not including tortilla/pita)