falafels

protein+ pulses glutenfree

quantities for 4 portions

ingredients

  • dried chickpeas: 250g
  • onion: 1/2
  • garlic: 1 clove
  • baking soda: 1 teaspoon (optional)
  • fresh coriander: 1 handful
  • fresh parseley: 1 handful
  • ground cumin: 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
  • salt and pepper
  • peanut oil (to fry)

if you don’t find fresh coriander, you can use 2 handfuls of parsely

precedure

  1. soak your chickpeas for 10 to 24 hours

  2. rinse them and dry them well in a cloth. eliminating the excess water will help make your falafel stick together

  3. in a good blender/food processor put the raw chickpeas, the onion, the garlic, the coriander, the parseley, the cumin, a teaspoon of salt, pepper to taste, and the baking soda (optional: it helps make your falafel more fluffy). blend everything very well, until you reach a smooth, non-sandy texture, that you can work with your hands

  4. optional: let the mixture sit for a couple of hours. this will allow the flavours to blend. if you don’t have the time, you can procede to the next step

  5. make the balls, pressing the mixture inside your hands. don’t worry if your balls seem fragile, they shouldn’t crumble, but once they stick together they are fine: they will become firmer when you’ll cook them

  6. put abundant peanut oil in a pan to deep-fry your falafels. turn on the heat and, after a few minutes, check the status of the oil with the bootom of a wooden spoon: if it “fries”, making some bubbles all around it, the oil is ready

  7. gently put the balls inside the oil, turn them to make sure they are cooked evenly on all side. they are ready when the surface is all brown and crunchy

  8. put them on absorbent paper and serve hot with hummus, or with another creamy sauce like babaganoush (eggplant sauce)

don’t be afraid to put too much oil: it’s very important for deep-fried dishes to be covered by frying oil. do not worry: you don’t need to throw it away afterwards! when you finish the cooking of the falafels, put a piece of stale bread inside the oil and let it cool down: this way, the hot oil will not burn and will be preserved better. when it’s completely cold, filter it with the help of a strainer and store it in a jar or a bottle. you can reuse it 3/4 times, until it becomes dark.

if your blender is not powerful enough to reach the desired texture, after having blended the mixture you can mix it a second time with a minipimer. it takes longer but it worked for us!