Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Fawaffles

The age old question - How to Grill Falafel - has been answered.

I sound kind of stuck up saying it like that, I know. Forgive. I am excited.

Cookout season is upon us and you guys know I like to stick everything ever on ze grill. Luckily, a pal and my's craving for falafel coincided with her monthly weekend grillfest and I had to get creative - and fawaffles were born.






















Now, that doesn't mean you HAVE to grill them - they're super-awesome straight out of the waffle press, drizzle with tahini + hotsauce, pickles a-sprinkled - but if you want a little char on 'em, form the patties, wafflize them, and throw them over some hot coals. I do love a char on my falafel and that's the perfect way to accomplish it.

Plus, no frying! Healthy! Yay!
















Fawaffles
makes 9-10 burgers

2 cups falafel mix (OR get industrious and go at this from scratch)
2 eggs or 2 eggs worth of egg replacer
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons freshly minced parsley
Super finely minced red onion - I used about 1/2 of 1
2 tablespoons freshly crushed garlic
Dash cumin
1 tablespoon minced sundried tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

Canola spray for the press

Tahini sauce, hot sauce, minced pickles and turnips for serving

















Vegan Note - if using egg replacer, make your batter a little dryer - try 1 1/4 cup water, let the batter sit, and check consistency.


General Note - You want a slightly thinner batter than if you were frying the falafel - not crumbly, pretty mushy and wet. If using a mix, remember to let the batter sit for 10-20 minutes after combining everything to allow for rehydration.


Beat your eggs (or mix egg replacer) with water and oil in a separate bowl. Mix all other ingredients in a large bowl, add water, and stir thoroughly. Let sit 10 minutes and stir again - again, you're looking for mushy, not crumbly.


Heat up your iron and spray liberally with canola. Put a ball the size of a large lemon in the middle of your grill and close. Let the waffle cook for about 5 minutes, until it browns just a teeny bit. Remove to a plate to cool. Using a smaller amount of batter makes for a circular patty - if you'd prefer square, use a tad more batter.


Finish off your batter.


We made these ahead of time and once they were grilled, stuck them in (grilled, of course) pita with all the fixings. Lordy lordy, this might be my new party trick this summer -they were LOVELY.























For the sake of preserving Falafel as an awesome vegan protein source, I'm planning on reworking the eggless recipe over the next couple of weeks (not a huge Ener-G fan over here, sad to say). Stay tuned, my vegan darlings!

38 comments:

  1. Amazing! You're more than welcome to pull out this trick play at one of our BBQs here in Houston. Haha! Yummy!

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  2. so creative!!! tweeted via FindingVegan - ps are u on FB or twitter?? ~kathy

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  3. Well this makes me want to go buy a waffle maker...

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  4. @anon - why thank you love!

    @PC - heck ya! And once they're grilled, we'll sprinkle em with tomato powder, nom!!

    @Kathy - thanks a ton love! No I am not. Perhaps I must finally face facts and get my toukas on FB tho. Sigh.

    @forgottenb - dude, you will not regret it. Just thrift one. And clean it well. 4 bucks well spent, promise!

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  5. what a fabulous idea. now i want to start "waffling" everything

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  6. falafel is the greatest food on the planet.

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  7. @jules - omg you should! Savory waffles are amazing because they come pre-built to hold delicious sauces of every kind. Think of okonomiyake waffles....awesome...

    @katie - agreed 100%.

    @smurf - thanks darlin'!!!

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  8. Great minds... :)

    http://www.waffleizer.com/waffleizer/2010/03/waffled-falafel-and-secret-to-perfect-hummus.html

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  9. @daniel - HA! I KNEW I couldn't possibly be the one to have thought of this first. Thanks for allowing me three days of ignorant glory :)

    @Yarn - gratzi!

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  10. This is brilliant! I'm a little embarrassed I didn't think of it. :)

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  11. I could swear I commented on these the other day but perhaps I did not. Anyway, these look so darn good I cannot wait to try them. Such a terrific idea. Very inspiring post!

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  12. @Tiffany - hooooooray! Did you maple syrup them?

    @Laura - that's is exactly how I felt after I ate my first. Like, "Duh! How was this not the first thing I made with my waffle iron!"

    @Katrina - thanks so much :) Let me know how it goes!

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  13. Tried to make these tonight and it was an epic FAIL! The batter was too watery. The waffels never came together. We had to scrape the mix off the waffel iron with a knife! I am comitted to make this succede. If I make the falafel mix from scratch, do I still add the oil, egg, and water? Any hints? Thanks!

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  14. Betsy!

    Sooo bummed your waffles didn't turn out. Getting them to congeal while maintaining a moist texture is the tricky part of this recipe (as you discovered).

    My waffle maker is non-stick - most electric ones are these days, so I'm assuming yours is.

    I've made these 3 times using Fantastic Food's Falafel mix - if you're using a different brand, moisture content could vary. I'd suggest adding your oil and eggs, then gradually adding water until the batter just comes together - whereas when making fryable falafel, you want it crumbly, just wet enough to hold together into a ball, here, you want it a little moister - but just a little.

    Tis a delicate balance! I hope your next batch turns out perfectly. Do let me know!

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  15. What this really needs is double-down treatment. Drop the pita and just use two fawaffles with the tahini/tomato/lettuce/sprouts in the middle

    Also, I've done ok using Bob's Red Mill (I think that is the name) egg replacer or just ground flax seeds (flax seed + coffee grinder) with around a 1-3 ratio with water

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  16. We are falafel fans and after the initial horror of thinking of falafel waffles...it works! We can't wait to try it! Thanks!

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  17. I never thought to make vegetable waffles..delicious idea!

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  18. You, my good woman, are a genius. Much respect to you. With your help, I have just crossed over from Falafel freak to addict! Well done.

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  19. You are a genius . I have tried your fawaffels and I am totally blown away . They came out fantastic , had to adjust my seasoning a bit but they were outstanding .Now I dont feel guilty about using my waffle iron! I have linked to my FB page. Thanks for sharing xoxox

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  20. Fun to eat and fun to make! Can't wait to try it!

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  21. Love how you blog =) Saw your falachos too... I love em in tacos too..

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  22. For a nice vegan waffle, use a flax "egg." Ground flax mixed with water will form a gel that is great for binding falafel mix plus you get omega's and extra fiber :)
    Also try Flax Seasoning to season your fawaffle, it taste great on everything!
    www.flaxseasoning.com

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  23. I love waffle, can't wait to try these yummy waffle recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this !

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  24. Awesome, you make it like an artist. It looks so delicious, I will try your recipe to make it for my kids. Thank you so much for sharing this!

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  25. Thanks for sharing delicious recipe.
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