I love falafel.
Like most New Yorkers, I first discovered falafel when I was a broke college student roaming around the East Village and trying to save a few bucks for the cover charge at the Bitter End so I could watch my friend’s band play, and hopefully find someone who would buy me a beer.
Falafel trucks abound by Washington Square AND you can get a really good falafel for like 2 bucks.
No joke.
So now the question. What is falafel?
It’s basically chickpeas mixed up with some parsley and spices, deep fried and then served in a pita as a sandwich or on some lettuce as a platter.
It is one of my favorite foods of all time. I could definitely subsist on falafel and pasta for the rest of my life and be happy.
Thankfully, falafel was as easy to make as pasta!
You will need:
- 1 15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- handful of parsley
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons flour
- vegetable oil for frying
Throw everything but the vegetable oil into a food processor.
Blend until smooth
Place the mixture in a bowl and pop in the fridge for about 20 minutes. This helps it set up a bit so it doesn’t break apart when you fry it.
Now, on to the frying.
You want about a 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pot. Bring it up to 350 degrees. I don’t have a thermometer, so I use the wooden spoon trick. Dip the handle of the wooden spoon into the oil; if it pops and bubbles you’re good to go.
Using two tablespoons, form the falafel mixture into balls and carefully drop into the oil.
Fry on one side for 2-3 minutes and then flip and let cook another 2-3 minutes. They will be golden on both sides.
Place on a paper towel-lined plate and continue to form balls and fry until the mixture has all been cooked.
You can take these little guys and stuff them into a pita pocket with some lettuce and cabbage, or you can make a platter, which is what we did.
Iceberg lettuce, pickled cabbage and cucumbers (By the way, the cabbage is just barely pickled. Shred some red cabbage and toss it in a bowl with two tablespoon olive oil, 4 tablespoons champagne vinegar and a tablespoon of sugar, and let it sit in the fridge overnight)
Add your falafel
And finish it off with some tzatziki, hummus or tahini.
