Coconut breaded falafel baked in the oven until golden brown. Placed in a bowl with onions, crisp arugula, and a fruity & spicy sauce. Falafel has slowly taken over the spot as one of my favorite foods. I was hooked the first time I tried it!
Don’t get me wrong, any kind of spaghetti will forever be my all time favorite food. But when I see falafel on a menu, it’s so hard for me to pass it up.
This falafel recipe is from Chloe Flavor. It’s actually a vegan cookbook, but you wouldn’t know it! all the recipes look so good and they don’t use any crazy hard-to-find ingredients. There are so many recipes I can’t wait to try, but this recipe was so easy, I had to share it first! Oh, and Michael Symon (who wrote a whole cookbook about meat) wrote the intro to Chloe’s book…it’s definitely a cookbook that appeals to vegans and non-vegans.
I made a few changes to the recipe. I like to bake my falafel instead of frying it, it’s a bit healthier and you can prep the other ingredients while the falafel cooks. I also made this into a salad/grain bowl instead of serving them as sliders. I wanted to pack a lot of vegetables in the meal, and it was easier to do as a bowl.
When you’re breading the falafel with coconut, I recommend dipping your hands in water. It was the only way the coconut tightly adhered to the falafel.
For some dishes, I don’t mind skipping the sauce. This is not one of those recipes! The sauce completes the meal and adds a kick to the bowl. It’s simple too! You just blend a mango and jalapeno and fresh lime it’s complete.
The whole idea is for the falafel to be the vegan take on coconut shrimp! But I also think it could replace coconut crusted chicken too.
So sprinkle some extra coconut and a bit of lime and enjoy the meal, it feels like a dinner you’d eat while on a tropical vacation.
Coconut Falafel Mango Bowls
https://northcoasteats.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/coco.falafel-0154.jpg
| Yield: Makes 4 bowls |
Coconut breaded falafel, arugula, tomatoes, onions, and homemade mango-jalapeno sauce.
You'll Need...
- SAUCE:
- 1 mango, cubed
- 1 jalapeno, diced (seeds removed for less heat)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- FALAFEL:
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and dried
- 1/4 cup onion
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- BOWLS:
- 4 cups arugula
- 1/2 cup onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 lime, sliced
Directions
- Make the sauce: Place all sauce ingredients in a food processor and pulse until pureed.
- Make the falafel: Preheat oven 350 degrees. Place all falafel ingredients (EXCEPT the coconut) in a food processor and pulse a few times until mixed. Wetting your hands, roll falafel in about 1 inch balls. Roll each ball in coconut. Baked 20 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown.
- Assemble the bowls: Divide all bowl ingredients among 4 bowls. Top with coconut falafel, mango sauce, and remaining coconut.
Additional Notes
images and text © North Coast Eats
adapted from Chloe Flavor
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