mastering falafel
I've become slightly obsessed with falafel...eating it, reading about it, finding places that serve it, and of course, cooking it. I love whoever invented it!
I said in my last falafel post, that I will master falafel, and I have! The secret is in preparing the chickpeas...just an overnight soaking, and a run through the food processor turns out perfectly textured falafel!
1 lb dried chickpeas1 medium onion cut into large pieces
2-3 garlic cloves
3 slices bread (stale or slightly toasted & made into breadcrumbs)
4 T parsley
2 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
2 t cumin
2 t oregano
2 t coriander
2 t baking powder
3 1/2 T water
couple dashes cayenne (optional)
Soak the chickpeas for 12-24 hours. Drain and rinse them, then run them through a food processor until they're coarsely chopped. Add the rest of the ingredients and process just until smooth and well blended.
Form the mixture into small balls (I use a cookie scoop to keep them uniform) and flatten them slightly. I kept them in the fridge while I preheated the deep fryer, then fried them at 375 degrees in small batches, until they were golden brown.
I served them as I always do, in wraps with lettuce, tomato and tzatziki. Everything about this was perfect. It's not identical to, but it's just as good as the falafel I get from Tangiers, which is considered to have the best falafel in the area.
I almost gave up and surrendered to boxed falafel mix. I'm so glad I didn't!
Now maybe I can quit my job and sell falafel sandwiches out of one of those little roach coach lunch wagons in office parks, open a chain of falafel restaurants, sell frozen falafel at wholesale clubs, and retire off the profits from my falafel empire!
It's an underserved market ;-)
4 comments:
Hi Sage! They look wonderful. You did an amazing job (as always). I can't wait to try them. Do you think they would turn out well if I cooked them in a regular pan as opposed to a deep fryer? Thank you so much for sharing!!
Warmly,
Tracey
LOL, when I saw the title of this post in my reader, my first thought was "Sage is a little obsessed with falafel!" I love it almost as much as you do, but I'm sticking to my Cedars box mix. I just don't have the touch (or a deep fryer.) I wouldn't turn down one of yours though, it looks amazing!
Just found this post (thanks to your link in today's entry). When you say to soak the chickpeas, how are you buying the chickpeas? I can only find them canned - which means they've already been "soaking" in a liquid. You don't use canned chickpeas, do you?
Hi Kimberly,
I buy them dried. In the US, they usually come in 1 lb. bags (plastic) and I usually found them in the ethnic food aisle or near the barley and rice.
Here in Denmark most regular grocery stores don't carry many types of dried beans, so I have to buy them from a Middle Eastern grocery store. If you can't find them at the regular grocery store, you might try an ethnic grocer if there's one nearby.
~ Sage
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