Falafel

Falafel is a bit of a dream dish. Meatballs of the bean world, these crispy bean patties are a vegetarian's dream.

Though I'm rather used to having falafel with Greek food, the truth is that falafel is not Greek-specific. As with many Middle Eastern dishes, there are different varieties depending on where you go. Falafel is thought to have originated in Egypt, actually, and is served in Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Syria, Greece, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen...and the list goes on (Read here for more on the history). So though I may have my own personal association with it, falafel has been livin' long before I tried it.

I long for them when I don't make it to Greek spot for a long period (and there is quite a fantastic food truck that centers around them in central Florida as well). Despite the cravings and the fact that I don't often go to Mediterranean restaurants, I've never been courageous enough to make them.

Yet finally one day I decided to give these a whirl. As usual, I expected complexity, but it's rather simple, really. This recipe did take me two tries to make, but only because I was impatient the first go around. You see, I compared recipes for a while, seeing that most used dried chickpeas. Of course, I had canned readily available and not dry, so despite reading multiple warnings about using canned chickpeas. I figured that if one person had made it work then I could, too (and it's actually the recipe I wound up referencing, but used the dry instead). I made my falafel mix in the food processor, let it sit, and when I tried to cook them, the falafel turned into weird little mush pancakes that never firmed up. You're supposed to form them into patties and cook them, but the patty just wasn't happening. After cooking and flipping these mushy piles for several minutes, I gave up and accepted defeat.

Finally, I grabbed some dry garbanzo beans at the store and soaked them for about 8 hours. I'm not the best at planning, so even this took me two tries - the first time I got called away and didn't get to make them, so the beans soaked for a few days and were useless after that. The point of avoid canned chickpeas is that they are just too mushy, so soaking for 8-12 hours is ideal. That being said, I did nail it on round 3: bean bugaloo.

The soaked chickpeas, garlic, parsley, cilantro, red onion, lemon juice, and a little bit of flour and baking powder went into a food processor and were pulverized into a paste. I would definitely recommend fresh herbs just about any time you can use them, and as fate would have it I've been gently tending to my herb garden recently and had some luscious items to pick.

Then, the chickpea "batter" needed to chill for about an hour to firm up. I went the ever so slightly longer route of letting it chill overnight.

The final step is cooking. I heated some avocado oil (oil of choice is fine) in a skillet, then used a medium-sized cookie scoop to form it into balls, which I then gently flattened slightly to make a patty. Cooking them about 5-6 at a time, I cooked each side in the skillet for about 3-5 minutes, then flipped them and repeated. They got slightly browned on each side.

I made some tzatziki sauce to go with it, and served the falafel with some tomatoes, fresh spinach, red tzatziki, and feta on a pita. That sentence was so beautifully Greek, I can barely take it.

The truth is that I probably toss the word "amazing" out more often than is required in my life. But I can't define this any differently. I was able to recreate the falafel wrap I know and love all in the comfort of my home. I used about a cup of chickpeas and the end result was quite a bit of falafel - I must have had about 20 pieces total - so I was able to share this with a couple of fellow Greeks in my life who all were rather pleased. As for me? I've got another one in the rosters to pull out when I'm in the mood. Falafel for the win.

Falafel Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup dried chickpeas

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1/2 cup chopped red onion (or onion of choice - red is stronger in flavor)

3-4 garlic cloves, minced (or 3-4 teaspoons minced garlic)

1/3 cup flour 

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3-4 tablespoons avocado oil (or cooking oil of choice)

Instructions:

Add chickpeas and water to a bowl, then cover and refrigerate for 8-12 hours to soften. After soaking, drain water and add chickpeas, cilantro, parsley, onion, garlic, flour, lemon juice, baking powder, cumin, salt, black pepper to a food processor. Pulse several times, using a rubber spatula to mix 1-2 times throughout to ensure consistency. Once the mixture is ground into a paste, move to a smaller bowl if desired and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. To make the falafel, use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to pick up about 2 tablespoons worth of the paste and form into a ball. Gently flatten slightly, then add to the heated oil. Add 5-6 falafel patties to the pan, then cook for about 3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from pan and set on a paper towel lined plate to cool. Repeat with remaining falafel mixture.

Serve with pita, tzatziki, or on salad as desired.

adapted from the best falafel recipe