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Last weekend’s cooking adventures took on a very middle eastern flavor:  falafel, hummus, tabouleh salad and my very first attempt at making baklava (stay tuned for the baklava post). 

I’m going to go ahead and make a sweeping generalization here: pretty much everyone loves falafel, which are little patties made out of fried chickpea batter and a common form of street food in many countries of the world (though they are Arabic in origin).  I had my first falafel from a street stand in Amsterdam circa 2001 (thank you, Debbie, for the formal introduction) and have been hooked ever since.   If you’ve got a food processor, falafel is pretty easy to make at home, and the homemade version is way tastier than the boxed dry falafel mixes available most health food stores.

My first two attempts at making falafel resulted in a big mushy, crumbly mess.  The key,  I discovered, is always testing out a patty before you commit to rolling and frying the whole batter.  If the patty falls apart in the oil, simply add more flour to the batter until the patties maintain their shape.  Once you become a falafel pro, you’ll develop a sense for how wet the batter should be. 

Falafel isn’t exactly elegant food (can “elegant” and “fried” go together?).  In many parts of the world, it’s actually considered “fast food,” but I’ll take it over McDonald’s any day.  It’s often served with a tahini sauce or yogurt cucumber sauce; I’ve developed a tofu-based version of the latter that I always make to accompany my falafel.

This batter should feed 4 to 5 people.  I recommend serving on pita bread with tabouleh,  hummus and cucumber-dill sauce (recipe below).  Tip: only fry what you’re going to eat right away, because the falafel simply must be eaten hot and fresh.  If you only use part of the batter, the remaining batter can be kept in the fridge for a day or so until you’re ready to eat it.  

Falafel Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 T ground cumin
• scant 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, preferably freshly ground, more or less to taste
• 1/4 cup  flour (I sometimes use chickpea flour in keeping with the theme of fried chickpea batter, but all-purpose or white whole wheat will do just as well); plus reserve some additional flour aside, be added in before frying
• oil for frying — something neutral, like canola or grapeseed, but olive oil would be okay too. 

To Make the Falafel:

1. In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, onion, and bread crumbs until well chopped.  Then add in the remaining ingredients (except for the frying oil) and combine until everything is well incorporated.  Put the batter in a bowl, cover, and refridgerate for about 30 minutes (or more).

2. Fill a skillet with a layer of the frying oil — it doesn’t have to be much, less than 1/4 inch will do.  Heat the oil to a medium high heat. 

3.  Now, onto the frying: always, always, ALWAYS do a tester patty.  It’s very likely that you will need at add in more flour, maybe even up to 1/4 cup more, depending on what kind of flour you are using and how wet your batter is.  The patties are made by rolling the batter into little balls, about one and half inches, and then slightly flattening them into patties (this will help you get more frying coverage).  Throw your tester patty into the hot oil.  If it falls apart and crumbles, you definitely need more flour.  Fry on one side a few minutes, until the sides start to turn golden brown.  Then flip and fry the other side, until the whole patty is golden brown.

4.  Remove falafel from the hot oil with a slotted spoon and briefly place on paper towel to blot excess oil.  Serve hot!

Cucumber-Dill Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 cup silken tofu
• 1 small cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1.5 T lemon juice
• 1/2 cup packed fresh dill weed or 2-3 T dried dill weed
• 1/4 tsp sea salt (or more to taste)
• black pepper to taste

To Make the Sauce:

1.  Combine all ingredients in a food processor.   You may have to scrape down the sides with a rubber scraper to ensure that all the ingredients are well incorporated