Baked Butternut Falafels With Cucumber Yogurt Dip

Submitted by Lalaloula

"This recipe comes from the wonderful book "Mon premier dîner végétarien" by Alice Hart, which I was gifted for my bday a couple of weeks ago. Ive modified it a little bit to suit my tastes even better, but the original was really great as is, too. This is different from other recipes in that the falafels are being baked in the oven, so that they arent as heavy. I hope you enjoy this as much as we do! :) Note: 30 minutes of chill time are not included in prep time."

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photo by Starrynews

Ready In:: 1hr 10mins
Ingredients:: 20
Yields:: 16 falafels

ingredients

For the falafels
500 g butternut squash, deseeded and cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
¹⁄₂ teaspoon garlic powder
¹⁄₄ teaspoon cumin, ground
¹⁄₄ teaspoon coriander, ground
¹⁄₈ teaspoon curry powder (hot)
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 dash cinnamon, ground
salt and pepper
400 g chickpeas (either from a can or presoaked and cooked)
¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking soda
1 small bunch parsley, chopped finely
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped finely
¹⁄₂ teaspoon cumin, ground (yes again)
¹⁄₂ teaspoon coriander, ground (yes again)
¹⁄₂ teaspoon garlic powder (yes again)
For the Cucumber Yogurt
¹⁄₂ cucumber, deseeded and grated
300 g Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper

directions

Place the butternut squash cubes on a paper-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tbs of the olive oil and sprinkle garlic, powder, cumin, coriander, curry, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, salt and pepper over it. Toss to coat. Roast this in the preheated oven at 200°C/400°F for about 35 minutes. Set aside.
In a large bowl puree the chickpeas together with the baking soda, parsley, cilantro, cumin, coriander and garlic powder. I used my immersion blender for this, but you can also use a food processor or a potato masher.
Add the butternut to this and puree it also. The mixture should still be a bit chunky, not totally smooth.
Place the mixture in the fridge and let rest for 30 minutes.
Take tbs full of the mixture and drop them onto a paper-lined baking sheet. I used my hands to form them into patties. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tbs of olive oil and bake for 15-20 minutes at 200°C/400°F They should be nicely browned on top.
For the yogurt place the grated cucumber in a fine mesh sieve and sprinkle lightly with salt. Allow to drain for 20 minutes.
Then wash off salt and press out all moisture using a tea towel.
Combine cucumber with lemon juice and yogurt. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy with the falafels. This makes a great meal with a salad and some pita bread.

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Reviews

Very interesting take on falafel! The spices added great depth of flavor, which helped to balance the extra sweetness introduced by the butternut squash. These came out a bit softer than usual falafels for me, which I assume is probably the result of using the soft squash and baking instead of frying, but they came off of the parchment paper easily with a spatula, so no problem serving them. Thanks for sharing! Veggie Swap 51

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