I love hot, freshly-made falafel, and so finding the perfect recipe has been difficult ... but now, thanks to Bobby Flay's throwdown with the falafel queen of New York, I have found it. This recipe creates a perfectly textured and spiced falafel, and it's hard not to eat half of them as they come out of the oil, piping hot.
The recipe is very simple, but there is one subtle but very important point to keep in mind: use dried chickpeas. Do not buy cooked or canned chickpeas. You must buy dry chickpeas, soak them, drain them, and then grind then. Let me reiterate: falafel must be made from raw chickpeas. Cooked chickpeas will always make the falafels disintegrate as you fry them. If you don't believe me, do a quick google search (which is what motivated me come back for round two, after I learned the hard way in round one that canned chickpeas don't work), or just try it yourself. A pot of hot oil with floating fried chickpea pieces is not appetizing, or a good use of chickpeas.Ingredients
- 2 cups dried chickpeas
- One small onion, coarsely chopped
- At least one clove garlic, chopped (or more, to taste)
- 1 cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- A few mint leaves
- 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- Oil, for frying
Instructions
- Put the chickpeas in a large bowl, add water to cover by about two inches, and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, drain the chickpeas and toss them in a bowl with the onion and garlic. Run the mixture through a food processor (or meat grinder if you have one). Toss the chickpea mixture with the parsley, cilantro, mint, salt, pepper, cumin, and coriander, and run through the food processor again.
- Heat four inches of oil to 350F in a large pot over medium heat. Using a tablespoon, shape the falafel mixture into balls and fry, adjusting the heat as necessary, until browned, about three minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Makes approx 40 falafels. Eat them all.
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