Recipe Difficulty: Easy! You'll need a food processor to make the mixture.

​Recipe Tags:

• Falafel with canned chickpeas (don't judge, I love my falafel as they are)
• Easy Falafel
• Quick Falafel
• Gluten Free Falafel

My Falafel Recipe Notes
This is my easy falafel recipe. I really love them and I ONLY ever want them with LOTS of the tahini dressing I'm sharing. So good. 

I don't always follow the rules...
I've been making falafel this way for years and years. Purists will say you HAVE to start with dried and soaked, uncooked chickpeas. They are correct, that's the authentic way to make falafel. I tried it that way once....they were decent...but I have always used canned chickpeas, and I really love the results. The texture is definitely different than the authentic version, but I like it....maybe better??? Simple & flavourful.  I use a bit of baking powder in the mixture to add a bit of lightness to the fritters. 


About Tahini Dressing
The tahini dressing is sooo tasty. I honestly put so much of it on my falafel...like every bite needs to be super saucy.  I make this ahead of time preferably. It will thicken up in the fridge. You can adjust the consistency by adding a little more water to thin it out, or a bit more tahini to thicken it up. If I'm using it on my salad I like it a bit thinner, in a wrap a bit thicker. So the recipe is a bit loose in that sense. If you like extra heat you could add a bit of sambal oelek to the dressing or some chipotle chili in adobo sauce. 

Falafel Variations
​
Pita Wrap
 I just piled on loads of veggies, loads of sauce, and ate it with a knife and fork. Works for me! I made the falafel into "cakes" and used 3 per pita wrap. Then, a handful of chopped tomatoes, cucumber, some fresh lettuce, a bit of red onion, and PLENTY of sauce. 

Buddha Bowl
You can also make a fun buddha bowl! It's basically a salad. Just load in spinach, greens, maybe some roasted sweet potato, tomato, cucumber, some pickled onions and olives would be nice. How about pita chips too? Or even make tabbouleh and have some of that in there. Then of course some falafels and ALL the tahini dressing (pictured below)

Green Lettuce Tacos
ANOTHER variation, is to make lettuce wrap tacos with some frilly green lettuce. I actually LOVE it this way. They were a bit messy to eat, so I just doubled up on my lettuce to make a sturdier "shell". I added in chopped tomato, cucumber, red onion, falafel, cilantro & sauce. Done!! I like to add just a bit of sauce to the tacos, then have extra on the side for drizzling on a bit before each bite. (That is what is pictured above)


Now for the recipes!!!

Much Love

Yield : 38 falafels (depends how big you roll them)

Falafel
        Ingredients:

• 2 x 19 oz cans chickpeas
• 1 white onion, chopped 
• 6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp chile flakes 
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt (I use flaked, I buy it at bulk barn)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil, divided. (plus more for cooking falafel)
• 2 tbsp. tahini
• 1/4 cup chickpea flour
• 2/3 cup parsley, chopped

Method:

1. Sautee onion and garlic in 1 tbsp of the olive oil until softened. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric and chili flakes to the pan and stir around for a few minutes to toast the spices. 
2. In a food processor, blitz together the onion mixture with the remaining ingredients. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides as needed. 
3. Portion them into patties or balls. 
4. You can shallow fry the falafel, or deep fry them. I tend towards shallow frying my patties and deep frying the balls. 

 
Tahini Dressing: 
Sometimes I double the recipe because I will eat lots over several days with my falafels, and it keeps in the fridge for at least a week if not two. 
​
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup tahini
• approx 1/2 cup water (as needed)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• 6 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• S & P

Method:

1. Whisk together everything except the water.
2. Whisk in water a bit at a time until desired consistency. 
3. Season with S & P. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add a splash more lemon or rice wine vinegar if it's not tasting bright enough.
4. If you aren't eating the dressing right away, pop it in the fridge until ready to serve.
5. The sauce will likely thicken once refrigerated, so add a bit more water to thin it out before serving if needed. 

Recipe Difficulty: Easy

Recipe Tags:

• Potato Salad
• Healthy Potato Salad
• Green Bean Salad
• Lentil Salad
• Vegan Potato Salad
• Dill & Toasted Pecans 

My Potato Lentil & Green Bean Salad Recipe Notes
A potato and lentil salad dressed with a bright Dijon forward vinaigrette is something I like to make now and again. I much prefer this to a creamy mayo based potato salad. I like mayo in lots of things, but there is just something I really like about potatoes dressed with the punchy mustardy oil and vinegar dressing.

While the version I'm sharing above uses green beans, potatoes, lentils, dill & pecans, 
I sometimes like to mix up the veg, herbs and pulses. The idea is you can make something well rounded and delicious using a variety of different ingredients. This keeps things interesting and means you can be flexible depending what you have on hand. I've made it as the recipe is written but with asparagus instead of green beans. Another time I took it in a different direction with great results. Broccoli instead of green beans, chickpeas instead of lentils. I also added in smoked paprika, shredded vegan mozzarella & cherry tomatoes.  Subbed in chopped romaine lettuce for the greens. Walnuts instead of Pecans. As long as you keep the ratio of ingredients roughly the same there are no rules. With fresh whole food ingredients, It's going to be delicious. If all that sounds too overwhelming, just stick with the recipe below first, then branch out next time!

I find this salad does improve when it has a bit of time to let the flavours marinate. But I'm not opposed to serving it straight away.  It's also nice when it isn't fridge cold. So you can always gently heat it up before serving. (leave any greens out of the salad until serving so they don't wilt weather you are heating up the potato salad or not....I never add arugula or greens to a salad that I won't be serving right away.)

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

​Ingredients:

Salad

•  1 lb baby potatoes or large red potatoes
•  1 cup dried lentils, cooked. (keep the texture, don't over cook!!!! don't want mush)
•  1/4 red onion, thinly sliced (to your liking)
•  1 french green beans, blanched. (You can slice them length wise if using regular green beans,   french green beans are thinner. I left mine "long" but you can cut them in half for easier   eating.)
•  a few radishes, thinly sliced
•  1 cup frozen peas, cooked (optional I didn't use any in the photo above but leaving this as a         suggestion)
•  1/4 cup chopped fresh dill or tarragon (to taste depends on the herbs)
•  1/4 cup fresh mint (again mix and match the herbs, parsley is good too...mint is one of my        favourites in this context though.)
•  a couple handfuls of fresh arugula, baby kale, or greens for serving/folding in
•  toasted pecans for sprinkling on top (probably 1/2 cup I didn't measure just grabbed handfuls)
•  juice from 1/2 lemon (to taste)
•  salt and pepper to taste
•  1 batch of vinaigrette

Vinaigrette (whisk together following ingredients)

• 1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Method:

1. Place your potatoes in a pot, cover with cold water and season with salt. **ALWAYS start your potatoes in cold water, this will ensure they cook evenly. 
2. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. When they can be pierced easily with a sharp pairing knife, strain and let cool. Slice them into thick rounds or chunks. 
3.  To blanch the green beans, bring a pot of water to a boil, season with some salt. 
4. Add your beans to the pot, (technically you're supposed to cover the pot with a lid to get the water as hot as possible again fast but I don't always bother)
5.  A trick for knowing when your vegetables are properly blanched is by the colour. They will turn VIBRANT green. I always take a taste to make sure but that is the tell tail sign. Strain them and shock them in ice water to stop the cooking process (I don't always have ice so i just run cold water over them)
6.  When everything is cooled you can add all of the salad ingredients to a bowl except fpr greens and pecans, dump the dressing on top and give it a stir. Squeeze in lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt, pepper & lemon. If serving right away fold in arugula and garnish with toasted pecans, or leave them out until serving the salad. 
7. Refrigerate overnight or for several hours for best flavour.

This vegan BBQ pineapple pizza was definitely a labour of love. As I'm sitting writing this post, I'm aware that once I start listing off all the recipes that were involved in the making of this pizza, I might lose some people. A 24 hour pizza dough, a home made BBQ sauce, 2 vegan cheeze recipes and a fairly involved seitan bacon recipe by Avant Garde Vegan. If I were to make this again, I would do it the exact. same. way. I'm a perfectionist, and flavour is the most important thing.

With that being said, I think your favourite BBQ sauce would be just fine here. Maybe even a different vegan bacon. (though this one is literally the best ever) I have found that an overnight dough (as taught to me by my friend Antonio who makes authentic Neapolitan style pizza for a living) gives you such good flavour and texture. I don't even bother with a quick pizza dough anymore. But if you have a go to pizza dough, go for it. Then the vegan cheeze. I would never go buy a vegan mozzarella unless I found some artisan brand that knocked my socks off. Really though my vegan cheeze recipes are the most simple of the components so I highly recommend trying them out, I use them on all of the pizzas I make at home. 

Now about this particular pizza. I am not a huge BBQ sauce person, but this whole situation was really good. Smoky and sweet, fresh pineapple, crisp seitan bacon, lots of thinly sliced red onion that in the hot oven shrivelled up into the most delicious oniony bites, thinly sliced mushrooms & green peppers. Then once out of the oven fresh cilantro to garnish. I ate it three nights in a row to find the perfect balance. LOTS of the cheeze was necessary to balance everything out and the cheeze has to be on the bottom layer to stay super creamy as it tends to brown too quickly if it's on the top layer. I baked it on my pizza stone. I let the stone preheat for about 30 min at 450. Then I take it out, put my rolled out dough right onto the stone, and build the toppings on there. It took about 20 - 25 minutes in the oven. 

Recipes - BBQ Pineapple Pizza
So, I'm going to break down these recipes for you, take or leave the components that interest you. Maybe you'll find something delicious to add to your repertoire.

My YouTube video is dedicated to the making of the dough, and you can see how much cheeze and other ingredients I layer on. As I mention in the video the dough is the best I can do without being a pizza professional, Antonio already watched it and as I predicted he messaged me and was like yeah but did you do this and this?! Uhm it was delicious, and no regular person without a woodfired oven and temperature control and experience will ever be able to make it to the same standard as a pizzaiolo, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't make it. Because it's the best dough I've ever made. The trick is a long rise and using less yeast. It gives better flavour, texture, and is better for your stomach & digestion. 

The recipe is for a really big batch of dough. About 8 pizzas depending on the size you want them. You could halve the recipe of course, but personally I love having individually wrapped balls of dough in the freezer when a craving for pizza strikes.

Check out the video to see how I make the dough and to see how it all comes together!

Recipe Difficulty: Easy

Recipe Tags:

• vegan
• smashed chickpea salad sandwich
  
• dill
• vegan tuna salad sandwich
• vegan egg sandwich

My Smashed Chickpea Salad Sandwich Recipe Notes:

This was SO GOOD. I have been craving a sandwich to fill the void of an egg salad or tuna salad sandwich, so I decided to make this smashed chickpea salad version, and it turned out beautifully. I will share the recipe as I made it. But I wouldn't hesitate to mix it up. Capers or dill pickles would be nice chopped in, or how about curry powder with raisins and apple? Endless possibilities. 

If you want it to taste more like an egg salad sandwich, I highly recommend you pick up some kala namak, a black sulpheric salt (linked below) that literally will make whatever you sprinkle it on taste eggy. It's inexpensive and you don't need a lot, so it lasts a long time. 

I do love this sandwich exactly as I made it though. I really like it on my home made brown bread. The sweetness from the bread really works with all of the other components. Your favourite bread or wraps work too. The main chickpea mixture tastes bright and fresh with dill, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, minced red onion, celery, vegan mayo and a bit of smoked paprika. 

Along with the chickpea mixture in my sandwich, I like to add a handful of greens or arugula, some crisp vegan bacon, and slices of tomato. Delish. 

This will definitely be a new staple for me. So fresh, healthy & satisfying.
Much LOVE xo

kala namak! This is the exact product I buy to make things taste "eggy". 

Yield: Enough filling for 4 Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1 can 540 ml chickpeas (strained, rinsed & mashed with fork or potato masher)
• 1/4 cup vegan mayo + extra for spreading on sandwiches. (Hellman's came out with a veganized version and is what I now use)
• 1/3 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup minced red onion
• handful chopped fresh dill
• 1 tbsp. Dijon
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar 
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• salt and pepper
• pinch of sugar

Method:

1.  Once your chickpeas are mashed, simply combine with the remainder of ingredients.
2.  Toast bread if desired, spread with desired condiments. (I like mayo/yellow mustard)
3.  Layer onto the bread a few slices of vegan bacon, sliced tomato, arugula or other greens, & chickpea mixture, top with your 2nd piece of bread.
4.  Enjoy!!!

Yield: 2 loaves

​Let me tell you - THIS is a treat. If like me you aren't an expert bread baker, don't worry, you don't need to be in order to make yourself a tasty loaf.  I do think this recipe would be a great place to start for beginners though and even if you are an expert bread baker, that's cool too - this bread is amazing. It makes 2 beautiful loaves; slightly sweet from molasses and lots of healthy goodness from oats. The dough is very sticky which can be a bit of a challenge in theory, but instead of trying to knead it on the counter and making a sticky - doughy mess, my mum told me she just uses a wooden spoon to fold and push the dough around for 10 minutes in the bowl. It works like a charm. This recipe works best when baked in dark metal loaf pans. The dough sticks a lot worse in pyrex pans so I don't recommend those here. 

I have been eating this brown bread with soup, YUM, and  I'm going to make some baked beans to have with the second loaf. Whatever you eat it with, it is delicious. So, enjoy!


Much Love 

​Trisha