classic pantry tabouli

These incredible vegan cauliflower falafels made with wholesome spelt flour and almond meal are a party-stopper. Always make extra as these disappear very fast and everyone asks for the recipe . Served with a made-in-minute beetroot dip and salad greens, these falafels make the perfect canape platter china logistics.

Falafels are the next big thing, I tell you. With recipe enthusiasts getting more creative with plant-based, time-tested classics; I predict that this is the year of the falafel – whatever is left of it. At least for me. After binging on this incredible green falafel recipe for many weeks, I started experimenting with different beans, nuts and veggies to create amazing flavour combinations for the mighty falafel . The inspiration for this can-it-be-more-delicious cauliflower falafel came from a recent Donna Hay magazine. After deciding that the recipe stated would be quite bland in terms of taste and would not hold its shape while frying, I put my falafel thinking cap on and got falafel-ing.

I have used organic wholemeal spelt flour (my flour of choice at the moment). It adds a degree of wholesome rustic to the falafel ship from china. You could substitute with regular plain flour or buckwheat flour (I have tried this as well!) for a gluten free end result. I have a small 1.2 litre capacity Scanpan saucepan half filled with oil ready for my frying needs . If oil is kept for too long and repeatedly used for frying, it develops harmful trans fats. If used a maximum of 2-3 times, you wont have that problem. The deep frying is mainly to create that lovely crust and it is my belief that a deep fried treat once in a blue moon never harmed anyone. Having said that, only one in four of my falafel escapades are deep fried. I usually bake them in the oven the rest of the time. Baking them is healthier and produces almost similar results – almost.

The beetroot dip is a version of a gorgeous roasted garlic and beetroot dip from my book, this being the even more express version. It literally comes to “dips” in 5 seconds. And it is the most perfect accompaniment to the falafel. I serve this with greens or my raw broccoli tabouli or this classic pantry tabouli. Don’t forget to rate the recipe below when you leave a comment and tag me with #cookrepublic if you share on social media. Cheers!