Falafel

Some extended notes:

  • To serve: Pitas, tahini sauce (below), tomato-cucumber salad, harissa (homemade or storebought) or another hot sauce (such as zhoug), and any pickled vegetables you wish, such as cucumbers, red onion, or mango (amba)
  • To make tahini sauce: I have trouble nailing down precise measurements measurements for tahini sauce because you really want it to taste, and tahinis vary between brands. But, it’s roughly this for this amount of falafel: 1/2 cup well-stirred tahini + 1 clove garlic, minced or finely grated + Juice of half a lemon, plus more to taste + salt, to taste + water, as needed, to thin tahini into a sauce. It’s not strange to need at least as much water as you do tahini to keep it loose and spoonable, but I add it a tablespoon at a time, whisking to combine, tasting along the way.
  • Some falafel recipes contain flour (to make it heavier and more firm), some contain baking powder (for fluff), but after making a batch with both, I found I preferred the purist route, with neither. Should you wish to add flour, add 1 tablespoon at time, frying off a ball after each addition until you get the texture you wish, not going further than 4 tablespoons or it will be excessively leaden. To add baking powder, you could use 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons for the whole recipe below, but personally, I found the change in fluffiness nominal, and the texture without it not lacking at all.
  • I’d forgotten how easy it is to make pita bread and have proceeded to make it 4 more times in two weeks, sometimes for falafel and other times just to go with a really great soup or stew. The recipe was fine as written but I’ve cleaned it up and simplified it because it’s easier than it made it sound. They rewarm well or can be kept warm in a basket lined with a napkin or cloth towel for a while. You know you wanna.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound (1 1/4 cups or 225 grams) dried chickpeas

  • 1/2 a large onion, roughly chopped or 1 cup chopped scallions

  • 2 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled (I use 4 but adjust to your tastes)

  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley, if you’re measuring, or a big handful

  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, if you’re measuring, or a big handful

  • 1 teaspoons fine sea salt or 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes or mild ones such as urfa biber or Aleppo

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • Peanut or vegetable oil for frying

Directions

  • The night before - Place chickpeas in a large bowl and add enough water to cover them by a few inches. I like to put 1 tablespoon of kosher salt per pound of chickpeas in this water too; it will not toughen the beans or slow down their cooking time, it simply seasons them. Let the chickpeas soak overnight.

  • An hour or so before you’d like to eat falafel - Drain the chickpeas well. In the bowl of a food processor or a really strong blender, place the onion, garlic, and herbs and pulse the machine until they’re coarsely. Add the drained chickpeas, salt, and spices and process until blended to a fine chop but not pureed. You’re looking for a texture like cooked couscous plus some slightly larger bits throughout. You should be able to pinch it together into a shape that holds.

  • Transfer chickpea mixture to a bowl, cover with plastic, and place in refrigerator for a few hours, if you have it, but I find even 30 minutes is helpful in getting the mixture to thicken and hold shape better. [This is when I like to get everything else ready.]

  • To shape the falafel - Form the chickpea mixture into walnut-sized balls. You could use a falafel scoop, if you have one, tablespoon measuring spoon, or even a cookie scoop, as I did. The most important thing is that you press it into the scoop tightly to compress the ingredients, then gently roll it in the palm of your hands to form a ball. Repeat with remaining chickpea mixture. (If you’re like me, you imagine you can just do this as you add them to the pan, but they cook so quickly, you’ll be happy to not have to multitask. Trust me.)

  • To cook the falafel - Heat 3/4 to 1-inch of oil in a medium-large frying pan to 375°F. Fry about 6 falafel fritters at a time, turning them over once they’re a nice toasty brown underneath, and removing them once the second half has the same color. This took me about 3 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels and repeat with remaining fritters.