If falafel makes you a little weary, you’re not alone! The dark brown balls with a bright green center can confuse even the most adventurous eaters. But don’t let their appearance trick you. This Mediterranean dish is an absolute delight that everyone should try (even if it’s at least once). With a crunchy exterior and flavorful interior, falafel pack a lot of punch in a bite size. Often served with pita, hummus, tahini and/or Persian salad, this easy meal can be a fun way to incorporate world cuisines into your cooking.
Follow along with the video and learn how to make them with our online culinary school instructor in this instructional video.
Falafel
Ingredients
1 lb dried chick peas (garbanzo beans)
1 small onion, roughly chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
2-5 garlic cloves (roasted will be better)
2 tbsp flour
1 ¾ tbsp salt
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Pinch ground cardamom
Oil for frying (vegetable, canola, avocado, sunflower)
Preparation
1. Pour chickpeas in a large bowl cover them by about 3 inches of cold
water. Let them soak overnight. They will double in size.
2. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans well. Pour into your food
processor along with the onion, garlic, chopped parsley, flour, salt,
cumin, coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper and cardamom. If you have a
small processor, you may want to do it in 2 batches.
3. Pulse the ingredients together until a coarse meal forms. Scrape the
sides of the processor periodically and push the mixture down the sides.
Process until the mixture is somewhere between the texture of couscous and
a paste.
4. Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, pour it into a
bowl and use a spoon to stir; this will make the texture more even
throughout. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
5. Fill a sauce pan with vegetable oil to a depth of 2 inches and heat the
oil slowly over medium heat. The ideal temperature to fry falafel is
between 350 and 360 degrees F?.
6. Form falafel mixture into round balls or slider-shaped patties using
wet hands or a falafel scoop. Fry in batches until they are golden brown. Serve with desired sauce.
