Falafel

Deep frying is not really in my home cooking repertoire, so I have never attempted falafel before. I still remember my first introduction to those deep fried balls of chickpea goodness in the form of a late-night street falafel in Amsterdam when I was 20. 

While this doesn’t even come close that, it’s a decent substitute that is pretty easy and healthier. Who doesn’t love having a food processor do all the chopping and mixing? It does take some time though, so plan head. One must patiently wait for the falafel mixture to chill. If you prep it a day ahead, this would be a great weeknight meal since the actual cooking time is super quick.

I used Joseph’s flax, oat, and whole wheat mini pitas which were the perfect size for two falafels, a little lettuce, a few grape tomatoes, and the tahini sauce. Also, check out this awesome pita trick from Bon Appetit!

Ingredient prep

Falafel
Serves: 4-6
Source: adapted from Just a Taste

Ingredients
Falafel
1 medium onion, quartered
6 garlic cloves
1 can (15.5 ounces) garbanzo beans
1 cup lightly packed parsley leaves 
1 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Falafel dough, browning

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup canola oil
2-3 Tablespoons canola oil
Pita bread for serving (and other toppings as desired)

Tahini sauce
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup tahini
Juice from 1 lemon (2 Tablespoons)

Directions

Golden brown, but not deep fried, goodness

1. Add the onion and garlic cloves to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely minced. Remove mixture and set it aside. Add garbanzo beans, parsley, cilantro, salt, chili powder, and cumin to the bowl of the food processor and pulse until just roughly blended.

Falafel-stuffed pita

2. Add the onion mixture back to the food processor, in addition to the baking powder and 1/4 cup of the flour. Pulse mixture until blended and starts to form a ball. Add additional flour and pulse as needed until the mixture is not sticky. Cover food processor bowl and refrigerate mixture for 1 hour.

3. To make the sauce, stir together the yogurt, tahini, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

4. Once the falafel mixture is done chilling, form the mixture into balls (around 16 of ’em).

5. In a large saute pan, heat 2 Tablespoons canola oil over medium heat. Add falafel, flatten a bit, and brown for about 3 minutes. Flip and brown on the second side for another 2-3 minutes. Transfer the falafel to a paper towel-lined cooling rack and season with salt. Repeat until all falafel have been cooked.

6. Fill a pita with falafel (as many as will fit), drizzle with tahini sauce, and enjoy!