Over the years, I have had the opportunity to go to many Hannukkah parties, since my dad is a klezmer musician and is often hired to play at Jewish events. A few years ago, I even got treated to a complementary five course dinner, where I came across the most innovative falafel appetizer I have yet to taste.

It was a tiny coin of juicy fried eggplant, topped with a curried tahini sauce and pomegranate seeds. This appetizer inspired me to create these falafel eggplant towers, which fuse different textures and flavors to create an original addition to any winter holiday, including New Year's Eve.

Falafel Eggplant Towers

  • Prep Time:40 mins
  • Cook Time:40 mins
  • Total Time:1 hr 20 mins
  • Servings:18
  • Medium

    Ingredients

  • FOR THE TOWERS:
  • 1 3/4 cups falafel mix
  • 1 large eggplant
  • 1 3/4 cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 cups panko bread crumbs
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Curry spiced tahini sauce
  • 3/4 - 1 cup pomegranate seeds
  • FOR THE TAHINI SAUCE:
  • 1 cup tahini
  • 1 small lemon
  • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp curry powder
  • 1 Tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • Hot water to thin
chocolate, butter, peanut butter, peanut
Seraphina Buckholtz
  • Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 375°F and coat one 17.5 x 11 inch oven tray generously with olive oil. Slice the eggplant into ¼ inch slices. Coat the eggplant first in almond milk and then in breadcrumbs, and lay out on the trays. Bake them for 30-40 minutes, flipping them halfway through. Taste test one slice to make sure that all chewiness is gone before taking them out of the oven and laying them on your serving tray. The breadcrumbs on some slices may have formed thin sheets and separated from the eggplant. You can put these sheets back onto the eggplant after baking; the falafel patties will eventually go on top and hold them in place.

    Seraphina Buckholtz
  • Step 2

    Line another 17.5 x 11 inch oven tray with parchment paper. Mix the falafel mix with water until it has reached a dough-like consistency. Form the mix into patties that are roughly the same size as the eggplant slices, and bake for 20-30 min., or until the patties have solidified. Place them on top of the eggplant slices with a spatula; it’s ok if a few patties break into pieces, as long as they fit on top of the eggplant. If there are leftover falafel patties or eggplant slices, you can stack two eggplant slices or two falafel patties together.

    gingerbread, pastry, cake, sweet, chocolate, cookie
    Seraphina Buckholtz
  • Step 3

    Make the tahini sauce: Scoop the tahini into a bowl and mix if the oil is separated from the paste. Squeeze in the lemon, making sure that the seeds do not make their way into the tahini. Mix until thick, then add water until the mixture is viscous. Add spices and mix again before adding all other ingredients. Add hot water and stir until the sauce is thick enough to stick to the top of the towers, but thin enough to cascade slightly over the sides.

    cream, spread, peanut, hummus, mustard, peanut butter
  • Step 4

    Cascade tahini sauce over each tower until the sauce is used up, then sprinkle each tower with a generous helping of pomegranate seeds. Serve and enjoy!

    brie, honey, cheese, thyme, cranberry
    Seraphina Buckholtz