A Moroccan feast meal - Eggplant Glory

My first vegetarian meal after the cleanse. 

Damn, what should I prepare? I actually really craved some roasted chicken but that wasn't an option, obviously.. because I need to eat vegan for at least 2 days. And then I noticed these organic sweet potato, chickpea falafel in my grocery store. No added junk, just sweet potato, chickpeas and spices!  Hmmm but what could I create with these yummy balls? I decided to make a Moroccan feast meal, I roasted some eggplants and served it with the most yummy tahini dressing ever and pomegranate. My boyfriend had it served with some wholewheat couscous and feta cheese over the eggplant (cheese I miss you!! <3). 

Doesn't really looks awful to eat right? Detox dinners don't have to be boring ;-)

Ingredients
For 2 persons

1 package sweet potato falafel
2 eggplants
pomegrenate
handful of rocket/lettuce
olive oil
salt & pepper
(optional feta and quinoa/couscous)

for the dressing
3 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp hot water
2 tbsp lemon
pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced

If you want to make this recipe and not doing any detox or lose weight, I would recommand serving it with quinoa or couscous and some crumbled feta on top of the eggplant ;-)

Heat the oven on 200 degrees Celsius with rack in middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the eggplant in halves, flesh-side up and with the tip of a sharp knife, score the flesh. Season the eggplant with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil. Roast the eggplant until soft and browned, about 35-40 minutes.

While the eggplant is roasting prepare the dressing, simply mix all the ingredients until a smooth sauce.

The last 7 minutes add the falafel on the baking sheet next to the eggplant.

Remove eggplant from oven and sprinkle with some salt flakes. Transfer to serving plates, layer the eggplant on a bed of lettuce, drizzle the most delicious yummy tahini dressing on top, the pomegranate and maybe some feta and serve it with the falafel (and maybe your couscous or quinoa).

Incredibly yummy!!!

xoxo


ps. Save the left over tahini dressing in a jar, a wonderful dressing for lots of salads!

Healthy Falafel Wraps

This is a great dinner recipe, the flavors are amazing and the only thing is you need a food processor, it mainly does all the work for you. I love falafel, but it's often deep fried and full of fats and ingredients I have never heard off before. (Go to your local supermarket and flip the package around, the one I checked had around 46% chickpeas If I remember correctly and the rest was mainly junk..) Well this recipe is seriously really easy!

In this recipe I used homemade fresh falafel, obviously and also made a fresh spicy tomato salsa and a sweet and creamy sauce. All together it are all fresh ingredients, low calorie and it makes a delicious meal. If you don't have  a boyfriend that eats for 3, you will have some leftovers and the falafel and sides will remain fresh for a few days in your fridge so you can eat it again! The recipe is 

Ingredients 

For the falafel
400g drained chickpeas (2 cans and you have a bit leftover)
1 chili pepper
1 lemon (only the zest)
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chickpea flour (you can substitute with any kind of flour)
1 bunch fresh coriander (If your not a big fan you can use a big tsp dried)
2 cloves of garlic

Tomato salsa
4 big tomatoes
half a chili pepper
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 or a small clove of garlic

for the sauce
200g cottage cheese
1-2 tbsp chili sauce

Veggies
1 courgette
1 eggplant

Extra
Lettuce
4 whole wheat wraps

You start off with your vegetables. Cut them in rounds and lay them in an oven on 250 degrees, sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper and roast them until brown, flip. This takes about 20 minutes (10 minutes each side) preparing the falafel, prepare your food processor and put the drained chickpeas in. Finely grate the lemon zest, add a pinch of salt, the chili, spices, flour and blitz until you have a smooth paste. Scrape down the sides a bit and shape it into small patties/balls. (Wet your hands a bit, this way it's really easy to shape the falafel). Put a good amount of olive oil into the frying pan and add the falafel, turning when golden and crispy. 

Clean the food processor a bit, add all the ingredients for the tomato salsa, and a bit salt and give it a good swirl and blitz until you have a chunky tomato salsa. Make sure not to over blitz it! 

Mix the cottage cheese with the chili sauce and don't forget taking your vegetables out of the oven

Heat up the wraps in the microwave or in a frying pan without added oil. Now get a wrap and arrange the falafel, sauce, salsa, lettuce and vegetables and fold it up. Eat, enjoy ;-)

pssst: I forgot the veggies on top for the picture ;-)