Falafel! gets an exclamation point every time because it’s one of my all-time fave foods. Seriously, I LOVE LOVE LOVE a falafel! My fave falafel! is from L’As de Falafel! in Paris. It’s the gold standard and absolutely delicious. But alas I don’t live in Paris and my quest for the perfect falafel! in Toronto is ongoing. I try to hit one or two falafel! places a month. I’ve had some good and some passable but nothing AMAZING.
(from here on in i’m dropping the ! after falafel… it’s hurting my brain trying to remember to type it).
So as I always I’ve decided to take matter into my own hands. Over the years I’ve. experimented with packaged falafel mix. Some are OK but generally they are too salty and the texture is off. I’ve tried a few make-them-yourself recipes using canned chickpeas and they were OK but again, not great.
About a year ago I stumbled upon this recipe from Mark Bittman from the NY Times. I could tell that I could make it work. I like that it started with dried chickpeas. I also like that he gives the option of using either parsley or cilantro. And generally I enjoy Mark Bittman. I love his little videos. I kind of want to be his friend. He also seems like the type of guy who knows his way around a falafel… so I gave the recipe a try.
GREAT results. I use the recipe as a starting point and then adjust the seasonings to my liking which means pumping up the cumin and coriander count. I also used a mix of parsley and cilantro for extra fun. I don’t remember but knowing me I likely ignored the “Scant teaspoon cayenne” recommendation and kicked it up even further. The heat is in my blood.
The biggest change that I made to the recipe was not frying the falafel balls. I’m not a fan of deep frying. Not because it’s unhealthy (deep fried is my fave food group) but because a.) it uses a lot of oil and b.) i’m afraid of getting grease burns! Instead I pan fried them a bit to get them crispy on the outside and then finished them in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. I ended up with crispy falafel balls without any grease burns (or you know… extra fat/calories etc).
I turned the falafel balls into a sandwich by stuffing them in a whole wheat pita with lettuce, tomato, parsley, roasted eggplant and homemade tahini. Delicious. I kind of want to make falafel again this week… I’m not kidding, they make me THAT happy.
Enjoy!
Recipe: Falafel
1 3/4 cup dried chickpeas
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
1 small onion, quartered
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Scant teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 cup chopped parsley or cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, for frying.
1. Put beans in a large bowl and cover with water by 3 or 4 inches; they will triple in volume. Soak for 24 hours, adding water if needed to keep beans submerged.
2. Drain beans well (reserve soaking water) and transfer to a food processor. Add remaining ingredients except oil; pulse until minced but not puréed, scraping sides of bowl down; add soaking water if necessary to allow machine to do its work, but no more than 1 or 2 tablespoons. Keep pulsing until mixture comes together. Taste, adding salt, pepper, cayenne or lemon juice to taste.
3. Put oil in a large, deep saucepan to a depth of at least 2 inches; more is better. The narrower the saucepan the less oil you need, but the more oil you use the more patties you can cook at a time. Turn heat to medium-high and heat oil to about 350 degrees (a pinch of batter will sizzle immediately).
4. Scoop heaping tablespoons of batter and shape into balls or small patties. Fry in batches, without crowding, until nicely browned, turning as necessary; total cooking time will be less than 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.
(From the New York Times)
