Falafel

I am a BIG fan of Mediterranean food. How big? Like Justin Bieber big. I know. Doesn’t get much bigger than that.

Some of my favorite meals from the middle land (Mediterranean comes from the Latin medius - middle and terra - land. yep, google makes everyone look smart!) are gyros, falafel, hummus, bab-a ganoush, and of course baklava...mmm baklava. I will write about each of those at some point, but for today, we are having Falafel!

It's possible that some of us carnivores may have bypassed this wonder consisting primarily of just a bean, but a falafel that’s made properly will taste just as good as the lamb gyro you may order otherwise. Trust me. I’m a doctor.



So onto the recipe….you will need the following ingredients for the falafel:
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas(garbanzo beans)
1 small onion
½ shallot
½ cup fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic
1 egg
1 tsp tahini sauce (optional)
2 tsps ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp baking powder
1 tblsp olive oil
½ - 1 cup dry bread crumbs

*Tip – if you don’t want to use the canned version of the chickpeas, you can buy them as dry beans.  They are cheaper that way, but a bit more work. If you decide to go this route - measure out the amount you need – they double in size after they are cooked so take half the amount you plan to use. Soak them in a bowl with water that’s about 3-4 inches above the top of the beans, overnight or for about 5 hours. When you’re ready to cook them, drain the water, transfer beans to a pot, fill with water again about 3-4 inches above the top of the beans, and cook at a simmer for about an hour. Check on them in intervals to see they aren’t getting mushy. Drain, and they are ready to go.

Drain the chickpeas into a bowl, and start to mash them. I use a potato masher and really take my aggression out. Some recipes suggest using a food processor, but 1) that’s a lot of cleanup for a little bit of processing. And that's just no fun at all. It'd almost be more bearable to watch Jennifer Carpenter acting than do unnecessary cleanup! and  2) the chickpeas get really fine, and I find that the falafel is tastier when the consistency is a little more lumpy. And how often do you hear that lumpier food is tastier?

Dice the onion, shallot, garlic and parsley and add to the bowl along with the cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and baking powder and give it a stir.

I combine all the spices into a bowl for ease of adding. If you don’t have fresh spices/herbs, you can always use dry. However, you only need about half the amount of the dry because it’s more potent than the fresh. And in instances where you don’t have dry spices/herbs, you can always use the fresh.

Add the egg and olive oil to the mixture and mix well. If you have tahini sauce, add it at this point. It is optional and is just an extra touch for the falafel. You often find this sauce in hummus as well.

Finish it off by adding the bread crumbs in small quantities and mixing until the mixture is slightly damp and able to hold together

You should end up with a mixture when you try to mold it, is not sticky, but still holds its shape.

Start making ping-pong sized balls. They don't need to be perfectly round. I like to make them a little flat and a little oblong. Not for any particular reason, just because I can.

Heat about 1/3 cup oil in a not-shallow frying pan. It needs to be just deep enough to not spill the oil over when you add the falafels. Test the oil with a tiny bit of the mixture. When it sizzles and rises, add as many as space allows.

It's ok to place them close to each other but try not to let them touch.

Fry them until they are ready to flip, depending on how crispy you like them - personally I'd say 4 minutes would be right. Flip them over to the other side and fry for an additional 4 minutes or so.

Since the chickpeas have been cooked already, the purpose of  frying is not to ensure it is cooked, but more to give the food  a nicer texture that in turn tastes better.

The ingredients for the next portion are:
½ cucumber
½ tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup yogurt
2 tblsps feta cheese

¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup spinach
1 small tomato
½ onion
3-4 kalamata olives
2 pepperoncini

Shred the cucumber into a bowl with a grater and add the kosher salt. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

You will see that the cucumber has leaked a ton of water. Squeeze any excess water out and drain it.

Combine the cucumber, yogurt, feta cheese and pepper and stir.

In a separate bowl, mix together chopped spinach, diced tomato, onion, olives and pepperoncini. Typically you may have had falafels that only have the yogurt sauce, but I add veggies to dishes as I can cause it's healthy, and in this particular dish, it gives it yet another layer of flavor that just hits the spot.

you can add any veggies you like - green/red pepper, bean sprouts, etc

Lightly heat the pita bread on a griddle pan.

Using scissors or a small knife cut a small hole at the top of pita and layer in the falafel balls, vegetables, and yogurt sauce.

Enjoy!