Falafel

Crispy, herb-packed chickpea fritters with a golden crust and fluffy emerald interior. Made from soaked dried chickpeas for the perfect texture that canned beans can never achieve.

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained
• 1 cup fresh parsley, packed
• ½ cup fresh cilantro, packed
• 1 small yellow onion, quartered
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3 cups vegetable oil, for frying
• ½ cup tahini sauce
• 4 pita breads

Method

1. Add soaked, drained chickpeas to a food processor along with parsley, cilantro, onion, and garlic. Pulse about 40 times until the mixture resembles coarse sand -- do not puree into a paste.
2. Transfer to a bowl and stir in cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt, pepper, baking powder, and flour. Mix until evenly combined. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.
3. Heat vegetable oil in a deep pot or Dutch oven to 350 F. Line a plate with paper towels.
4. Using a falafel scoop or your hands, form the mixture into 1.5-inch balls or patties. Gently flatten slightly.
5. Fry the falafel in batches of 5-6 for about 3-4 minutes, turning once, until deeply golden brown on all sides. Transfer to the paper-towel-lined plate.
6. Serve falafel in warmed pita with tahini sauce, diced tomatoes, and pickles.

Chef's note: Never use canned chickpeas -- they are too wet and the falafel will fall apart. You must soak dried chickpeas for 12-24 hours. Formed, uncooked falafel freeze beautifully; fry straight from frozen, adding 1-2 extra minutes of cook time.

Nutrition per serving

More Lebanese recipes

• Chicken Shawarma
• Tabbouleh
• Fattoush