Air Fried Spicy Chickpea and Broccoli Falafel Balls

Air Fried Spicy Chickpea and Broccoli Falafel Balls

Delicious veggie packed crispy falafel balls. Delicious on their own or with my Jalapeño Spinach Crema with Zahtar

Ingredients: 

Falafel Balls

1 can of chickpeas 

2 cups of broccoli or cauliflower 

½ cup chopped carrots

½ cup chopped red onion 

1 jalapeno diced de-seed if you want less spice 

½ cup chopped cilantro

3 plump garlic cloves minced 

2 teaspoon ground cumin 

1 teaspoon smoked paprika 

3 tablespoon cassava flour 

2 tablespoon flax meal 

2-4 tablespoon of olive oil 

Breading

4-6 Tablespoons of nutritional yeast 

2 Tablespoon chile Limon spice from trader joes

1 teaspoon applewood smoked salt (Oaktown Spice Shop)

Directions:

• Open, drain, and rinse 1 can of chickpeas. Save the liquid from the can. This is called Aquafaba. It can be used in cakes or puddings or vegan mayo to add volume.
• Roughly chop all veggies, jalapeno, and garlic
• Measure out and mix dry ingredients and spices in a separate bowl.
• Toss all chopped veggies, jalapeno, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse blade a few times till the mixture becomes chunky and evenly chopped. At this point, the mix should still be fairly chunky. 
• Sprinkle dry ingredients and olive oil into the food processor. Start with 2 table spoons of oil. Only add more if needed. 
• Pulse mixture together until it becomes a grainy sand consistency. This will happen quickly.
• Mix with a spoon or spatula to test the consistency. It should be sticky enough to create balls. Add more oil and pulse a few more times if needed. 
• Remove the blade and mix with a spatula to ensure the dry mix is evenly distributed. 
• Create golfball size balls by rolling scoops of the mixture in your hands.
• Place balls on a tray or in a container that will be easy to store in the fridge. 
• After all dough is used up, add all breading ingredients to a shallow dish. Mix with a fork.
• Roll each ball in the breading individually till completely coated. Add back to tray. Once all balls a breaded, place tray in the fridge or freezer for at least an hour. This will inspire the ingredients to bind together. An overnight fridge rest is even better. I like to make a big batch and keep extra uncooked balls stored and ready to cook during the week.
• Air Fry for 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees. Cook till crispy brown and you are able to pick up without them falling apart.
• Serve hot

Delicious served plain 

or with Jalapeño - Spinach Crema