Coconutty Unfalafels!

Next up- the coconutty unfalafels!

Now these were sooooo popular in Memphis, I promised to post the recipe. This event was in May at Shelby Farms Park, a gorgeous green space and rec area (also featuring a fabulously decked out yurt!). It was put on by the Memphis Hightailers Bicycle Club and hosted by the conservancy. I cooked at the central kitchen for Memphis Public Schools, in the “small kitchen” (for catering and experiments) which was actually enormous. The director there was Anthony Geraci (of farm to school and Michelle Obama’s “Get Moving” fame), who showed me around the impressive digs and provided some of his wonderful chefs to assist me with their skills (better than mine, ha!). It was so cool of them to host the cooking, and to see what they were doing locally with the farm to school program and teaching urban kids gardening and farming skills. And in fact Matt Farr and some of his student farmers provided the produce I used (and then some) and attended the event. Easily 100+ people showed up. Every night should be as good!

Raw Falafelly Coconut Balls
(or partially cooked)

1 C. Sprouted garbanzo beans for raw, cooked garbanzo beans for not completely raw
½ C. chopped pitted Dates
½ C. Radish sprouts/mixed sprouts
½ C. Coconut flake
¼ C. sesame seeds
2 or 3 Garlic cloves
Handful of Herbs- oregano, dill, mint or whatever
A little lemon zest or orange peel
Oil (a few Tbsp.)
Salt (to taste)
Spices (cumin, coriander, dill, chili, sumac), to taste
1 Tbsp. lemon juice (use more if needed)
Enough Zahter with for rolling- in this case a blend of dried thyme, oregano, garlic, salt, sesame seeds and sumac powder

Now, THIS is easy! Blend the ingredients except for the zahter. You want it to be a consistency that can be rolled into little balls, so adjust adding one thing or another until you can, Roll the little balls in zahter mixture and serve. You can chill if you wish but it’s not necessary.
For sauce use a dilled vegan yogurt sauce, tahini with something interesting in it, chili tamarind sauce or apricot chutney.