Let’s define joy. joy (/joi/): a feeling of great pleasure and happiness ripping warm pita bread and dipping it into creamy hummus, all while surrounded by a bunch of other delicious goods, like crispy falafels, refreshing tabbouleh, and crunchy pickled onions. So basically it’s this baked falafel bowl.
I crave mediterranean food basically every other day, so I manifested it and turned my dreams into reality. And this reality is a process for sure, but it also makes for amazing leftovers that can be mixed and matched in so many ways. Don’t count on the leftovers lasting for long though–I made what I thought was a ton of hummus and this hummus-loving family made sure it was gone in two days.
Anyways, here are the steps to making a mediterranean bowl of your dreams!
1. Hummus
2. Baked falafel
3. Pita
4. Pickled onions
5. Tabbouleh
6. Anything else you want to add! I added some kale and avocado. I think pickled cabbage, some roasted beets, and lemon tahini sauce (I made some and forgot to add it haha) would also be perfect in this bowl.
Some tips as you make the ULTIMATE baked falafel bowl:
Make your hummus, falafel (just the mixture–don’t bake it yet!), and pickled onions the day before. It makes life way easier.
Add ice cubes and cold water to the hummus! It’s a game changer.
Consider frying your falafel. I tried baked this time and it was great, but if you’re looking to make restaurant-style falafel that is the best it can possibly be, fried definitely tastes better.
Grab a helper! For fun meals like this, it’s nice to get other people involved!
The Recipes
Recipes for the hummus, pickled onions, and tabbouleh are on the recipe card. Personally, the only non-staple ingredient I used in this entire bowl was parsley. You can try using cilantro, but getting your hands on some parsley is probably ideal. Here are the recipes I used for the pita and falafel!
Pita is Peppy’s Pita Bread Recipe.
Falafel is from Downshiftology.
The Ultimate Baked Falafel Bowl
Ingredients
Tabbouleh
- ¾ cup dry quinoa
- 1 bay leaf optional
- 1 garlic clove
- salt
- 10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped
- 8-10 kalamata olives, halved
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 10-15 crushed pistachios sub walnuts
Hummus
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
- 6-8 tbsp cold water
- 6 ice cubes
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp red chili powder or cayenne
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Pickled Red Onions
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp red chili flakes
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup white vinegar
Instructions
Tabbouleh
- Cook quinoa in 1.5 cups water on the stove. Add bay leaf (if using), garlic clove, and salt. Bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce to low and cook until water has evaporated. Usually about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- In a mixing bowl, toss quinoa with the rest of the ingredients
Hummus
- You can do this with canned chickpeas, but the best way to make hummus is with dry chickpeas. Soak them overnight, pressure cook them the next day (takes about 10 minutes), and make sure they cool before using for hummus.
- Process the chickpeas. Then add garlic, tahini, and lemon juice. Process it together as well as you can before adding ice cubes. Process again.
- Add spices and salt. Then add 2 tbsp water at a time and process until it’s at desired texture.
Pickled onions
- Add ½ cup water to a small saucepan. As the water comes to a boil, add the following: mustard seeds, bay leaves, salt, maple syrup, and red chili flakes. Take it off the heat after it bubbles for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the red onions to a jar. Pour everything from the saucepan over the onions. Pour the ½ cup of white vinegar over the onions. If there isn't enough liquid in the jar, add some more water.
- Let it cool off at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or place in the fridge overnight.
If you like this mediterranean goodness, you’ll also love…
Fall Squash Babaghanoush with Flaky Flatbread
It depends because this makes enough to have some leftovers of some things but not the others, depending on your preferences. I’d say this gave me about 4 bowls!
How many does this serve?