Falafel

It's no surprise that I get pretty excited about falafel. I love chickpeas and I love fried food. Enough said.

I happened by this recipe in the Top Chef Cookbook, which I received as a birthday present. It's a great book (especially if you're a fan of the show) but many of the recipes require what seems like a great deal of skill as well as ingredients that are impossible to find in your everyday grocery store. However, this dish has a very manageable list of ingredients and most of the work is done in the food processor, which is perhaps my favourite appliance.


The falafel came out crunchy on the outside and soft and warm with a pleasing texture on the inside. I wasn't quite expecting them to rise so much when they cooked so I might start with slightly flatter patties of the mixture the next time I make these. Also, they tasted great but could have stood up to a little more seasoning, so feel free to throw in more cumin or salt or pepper if you like. Other than that, this was a delightful and easy dinner that made our apartment smell like fried deliciousness. We toasted some pita bread, filled it up with falafel and topped it off with lettuce, tomatoes and tzatziki (we just mixed plain yoghurt with cucumbers, lemon juice and garlic). Now that it's been a day since we made these, I am happy to report that they heat up super well in the oven! The recipe below easily doubles or halves.

Falafel (from the Top Chef Cookbook)

Ingredients:
2 15oz cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
oil for frying

Place the chickpeas, parsley, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth.

Add the flour, baking soda and eggs and pulse until combined.

Form the mixture (it's pretty sticky) into 8 balls and let them rest for 15 minutes.

Heat a 1/2 inch of vegetable or peanut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Test the heat of the oil by throwing a small piece of falafel mixture in, the oil should bubble around it.

When the oil is hot, take each ball of falafel mixture, form it into a patty on a spatula, then slide it off the spatula into the skillet. Cook them for about 4 or 5 minutes per side, flipping once. They should be a deep brown and crunchy.

Eat them in a pita with toppings as we did, or eat them however you want.