Falafel for N

Falafel prove there’s a naturally vegan food everybody loves. Middle Eastern street food globally embraced, falafel are made with chickpeas and spices formed into balls and then fried.

Chef Tony at Shaddai makes the best falafel I’ve ever had, and a close second are those made at Daily Bread, the Middle Eastern market I’ve been going to ever since I was a kid.

The ideal falafel are crispy outside, tender inside and impossibly light. Alas, falafel often falls short of that ideal. They’re heavy. Or greasy.  Or dry. Fear of failure and fear of frying — the oil!  the mess!  — has kept me from making them at home. Yeah, I know you can bake or air fry.  I’ve tried a few.  They were meh. Falafel, I concluded, is something best left to the experts. 

Then my friend and colleague K asked if I had a falafel recipe that would appeal to N, her adorable nine-year-old daughter. Well, then. No one says no to Miss N.  But how to prepare?  I couldn’t man up enough to deep fry, and you know how I feel about baked falafel.  My solution — pan frying, —turned out to be easier, tidier, and more rewarding to make than I thought they would be.  So, thanks to K and to N. I hope these make your mouth and tummy smile.  

How to Make

• Pour dried chickpeas into a large bowl, pour in with plenty of cold water to cover.  Add a small pinch of baking soda and stir to dissolve. 
• Let chickpeas soak until tripled in size —  about 8 hours, or overnight.
• Pour into a food processor, and pulse until chickpeas are coarsely chopped and pebbly. 
• Add the parsley, cilantro, and garlic, and pulse again.
• Add baking soda, cumin, coriander and flour or chickpea flour. Pulse one or two more times, until mixture looks like damp sand.
• To finish, stir in thinly sliced scallion and sea salt. The mixture should come together when pressed in your hand, but be on the dry side.
• Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate to chill for an hour or two, or even overnight.

• Scoop the falafel mixture, a heaping tablespoon at a time, and roll the falafel into balls roughly the size of walnuts.
• Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Add olive oil or grapeseed oil. 

• Add falafel balls, cooking in batches, if necessary, to avoid crowding the pan. Falafel doesn’t like crowds.  
• Pan-fry for about 3 minutes, or until the bottoms brown and get a nice crust.  Turn gently and let the other side sear for another few minutes. Falafel should be golden brown all over.
• Remove from pan, place onto paper towels to blot up any excess oil, then serve at once.

Tips 

• Preparations need to begin a day or two ahead, so plan accordingly.
• Use dried chickpeas. Some recipes online say you can use cooked chickpeas. I beg to differ.
• Adding a pinch of baking soda when you soak the chickpeas makes them more alkaline and digestible.
• A food processor or high-speed blender makes this easy.  But resist the urge to whiz everything  into a smooth paste.
• Thinly slice the scallion by hand, rather than shredding it in the food processor.
• Chilling mixture for several hours or up to overnight makes rolling into balls easy.  
• From cold, we go to heat. The secret to falafal is heat —hot surface, hot, hot oil.  A cast iron skillet is perfect for this.  Pre-heat the cast iron pan in the oven at 425 degrees. Take it out — use potholders — place on burner then add the oil  The pan will already be good and hot, and the oil will heat through quicker.  
• Pan fry and serve at once.  Falafel waits for no one.
• Pita, tahini sauce, shredded cabbage, sliced pickled onion, and chopped tomato and cucumber all are nice falafel additions.  

My model, Ms N, shows you how it’s done.

I love when friends ask for recipes.  It makes me explore dishes I might never have attempted, like the falafel I made for K and N. You’re a friend, so i’m inviting you, too.  Is there anything you’d like to cook? Let’s do it together https://soulfulvegan.com/contact/.

More fab eats from the Middle East

• Wow, do I love borani efanaj, a fit-for-a-princess spinach and yogurt dip with a kick of mint 
• Eggplant salad — the allspice is EVERYTHING
• Pomegranate lentils
• Michael Solomonov shares his secret for the best hummus ever
• Adeena Sussman‘s jewelled rice

Thank you for reading my vegan stories and plant-based recipes. I sincerely love to connect with listeners and would like to hear your feedback, takeaways, “ah-ha!” moments, etc in the comments.

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