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Spiralized Zucchini with Tomato Sauce and Falafel

Falafel and spiralized zucchini aka zoodles. Yes, please! This dish quickly became a family favorite.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time35 mins
Course: Dinner
Servings: 2
Calories: 421kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 zucchini spiralized

For falafel

  • 3 cups fresh spinach
  • 1.5 cup cooked or canned chickpeas (½ cup dried = 1.5 cup cooked = 1 15 oz can drained)
  • 1/4 cup red onion roughly chopped
  • 3 clove garlic roughly chopped
  • 1.5 tbsp peanut butter
  • 1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 lime or lemon juice only (use less if using lemon, ½ lime = 1 tbsp)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp water
  • sea salt to taste
  • black pepper to taste
  • 3-4 tbsp flour of your choice (GF if needed)

For the sauce

  • 2.5 cups tomato chopped
  • 1/2 cup red onion finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup bell pepper (capsicum, any color) finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1/2 dried rosemary
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • sea salt to taste
  • black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F or 175°C.
  • Add garlic, onion, and spinach to a blender. Pulse a few times to break up into small pieces.
  • Add chickpeas, peanut butter, water lemon juice, cumin, salt and pepper to a food processor and mix to combine. Do not over-process as you want to keep some texture in there.
  • Once well incorporated, transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture is thick enough to handle. If the mixture is too wet add more flour, too dry add more water. Taste and adjust seasonings as need
  • Form balls from the falafel mixture. Use palms to flatten into patties.
  • Line baking sheet with parchment paper and evenly space out falafel patties. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping halfway.
  • Meanwhile, heat a skillet with cooking oil over medium heat. Saute onion for 2-3 minutes while stirring. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.
  • Stir in tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes start to fall apart and form a sauce. Season with oregano, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste. This will take about 10 minutes. Stir regularly. Add a little water if needed.
  • Spiralize zucchini, In a separate pan/skillet heat cooking oil over medium heat.
  • Then add zucchini noodles and cook until softened and heated through. This will take about 3-5 minutes. Stir regularly.
  • Add noodles to a bowl and top with tomato sauce and falafel patties

Notes

  • If you don't have a spiralizer, the easiest way to use a vegetable peeler or julienne peeler is to hold the zucchini down on a flat surface and slide from top to bottom to make ribbons or spaghetti-like strands. A vegetable peeler will make flat fettuccini-like strands/ribbons while a julienne peeler will make spaghetti-like strands. We used a spiralizer for this recipe. Click here for more info on how to spiralize veggies.
  • Many of us buy canned chickpeas because of the long soaking and cooking times. But did you know that you could soak and cook a big batch and freeze them for later use? Click here for more info (there's also a quick cooking method in there if you forgot to soak the chickpeas overnight)

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