WEANING: Oven Baked Falafel

Falafel is one of my favourite meals, they are so simple to make and with a couple of adaptions they are perfect for babies to enjoy too. I wanted to cook these in the oven to make them slightly healthier, but you can also fry them in a small amount of oil if you prefer. You could easily make these following the recipe below, remove some of the mixture to make baby friendly falafel and then add some chilli, harissa or chipotle paste into the leftover mixture for tasty adult friendly falafels. They can then be served in pitta bread with houmous, grated cheese, salad and cucumber or however you and your little one like to enjoy falafel!

 

What you'll need:

1 can of Chickpeas in water (some come in salted water so worth checking)

30g Fresh coriander  or parsley

2 tsp Ground cumin

2 tsp Ground coriander 

2 tbsp Wholemeal plain flour

1 small Onion, roughly chopped 

2 Garlic cloves or 1 1/2 tsp Garlic paste 

FryLight or Olive oil

What to do:

1) Preheat the oven to 180'C. Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend until it comes together into a ball.

2) Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and spray with Frylight/oil. Wet your hands, take a small handful of the mixture and roll/pat into your desired shape. I choose to make them slightly flatter to make it easier for Isabella to hold. Wetting your hands helps to stop the mixture sticking to your hands.

3) Spray with more Frylight/oil and put into the preheated oven for 30 minutes. 

4) Increase the temperature to 200'C and turn each falafel over. Cook for a further 10 minutes or until golden brown but still squidgy in the middle.

5) Cool slightly and either serve as finger food or in a pitta bread with homemade houmous, grated cheese and sliced avocado as more of a meal.

 

Feel free to leave a comment :)

Helen x