Falafel Nuggets & Sesame Dressing

Inspired by New School Cuisine, our cookbook for school nutrition professionals by school nutrition professionals, this falafel recipe has been a summer staple for Farm Functions Chef Jackie Major.

“We cook for hundreds of people every week—workshops, conferences, meetings—all across the farm. This is a simple, delicious protein that meets a lot of dietary needs.” This holds true for school cafeterias, too, in which over 14.5 million meals (breakfast and lunch) are served annually in Vermont alone.

The nuggets (or patties—shape as you’d like!) can be piled them over a salad, rolled into a wrap, or added to a veggie platter. They freeze well, too. 

The sesame sauce that goes alongside is equally delicious, and once you get the method down, it's surprisingly simple. Use it as a dipping sauce or drizzle overtop as a dressing.

Download the cafeteria-scale recipe for school nutrition professionals.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ cup Spanish onion, diced
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• ½ cup flour (gluten-free or all-purpose)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 Tbsp ground coriander
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 360°F. Line 1-2 sheet pans with parchment.
2. Dice onion. Heat the oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to melt into the oil, about 10 minutes.
3. Transfer to a large bowl.
4. Working in batches if needed, pulse chickpeas in the food processor until coarsely chopped (6 to 8 pulses per batch, see photos below). Add to the onions.
5. Add chopped parsley, lemon juice, soy sauce, flour, baking powder, coriander, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper to the chickpea mixture. Stir to thoroughly combine. Mixture will be the consistency of a thick dough (see photos below).
6. Form the falafel into your desired shape—a patty, nugget, your choice! A flatter shape will yield a crisper outcome.
7. Place your falafel on the prepared baking sheets, and bake until the bottoms are browned and crisp, 14 minutes. 
8. Flip the falafel (and you can flatten them more with the back of a spatula at this point, if you’d like). You’ll know it’s time to flip and flatten the nuggets when they easily pull away from the sheet pan. If you try to move them and they still seem stuck, put them back in the oven for another 1 to 2 minutes and then try again. Bake until browned and crisp on the other side, 5 minutes more.

Ingredients

• 1 cup tahini
• Zest of ½ lemon
• Juice of one lemon (about ¼ cup)
• 1 small garlic clove, grated
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp smoked paprika
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• ½ cup, plus 1 Tbsp ice-cold water

Method

1. Using the paddle attachment in a mixer, mix all the ingredients together, except the cold water. Once mixed, it will have a peanut butter-like consistency (see photo below).
2. Add half a cup of cold water, and mix until combined. The cold temperature helps the dressing emulsify.
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add remaining 2 Tablespoons of cold water, and mix for about a minute, or until it becomes creamy.