Hell Yeah It's Vegan!

Falafel is one accidentally vegan treat you can get almost anywhere. There’s a falafel place right near where I grew up that stays open until 3AM. Naturally, this place saved my life many a time in my youth, so I frequently find myself craving it. Luckily, it’s so easy to throw together at home! Falafel was the first food I cooked from scratch after I stopped eating animals nearly 10 years ago. I promise my cooking skills have improved since then, Mom.

These fried chickpea patties are a delicious appetizer on their own or nicely fill out a pita sandwich of tomato, lettuce, and tahini sauce. Serve as part of meze alongside tabbouleh, baba ghanoush, and roasted cauliflower and you’ve got a substantial, healthy, and delicious meal.

There are different schools of thought when it comes to falafel. Some will have you simply soak and grind the chickpeas rather than cooking them for a crunchier ball; others will include cilantro. These turn out crisp on the outside with a soft center. The only trick you’re likely to encounter in making them generally is getting the batter to the right consistency; too little flour and your patties will fall apart when they hit the frying pan, so if you’re nervous, try doing a tester first and adding more flour if needed. No worries, though; this recipe has always turned out perfectly for me.

If you like your meals to be dirt cheap like I do, use dried chickpeas. Soak them in a covered pot on your stove overnight; they’ll double in size. Drain the liquid. Add more water and boil them with a little salt for 1-2 hours, or until tender. Use as you would canned chickpeas.

Lastly, sesame seeds are usually included when the falafel will be served plain, so feel free to leave them out if you’re going to make sandwiches.

Falafel

1 c dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked (or 1 16-oz can)
½ large onion, roughly chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp baking powder
4-6 tbsp flour
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, optional
peanut oil for frying

Tahini Sauce
½ c tahini
¼ c lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
water for thinning
salt to taste

Add chickpeas, onion, and spices to a food processor. Blend until well-mixed (but not smooth). Stir in baking powder, flour, and sesame seeds.

Heat a half-inch of oil in a frying pan; it’s ready when adding a drop of batter results in a steady sizzle. Using your hands, form batter into 2″ balls and flatten slightly. The batter will be sticky, but should hold its shape. Fry several at a time for a few minutes on each side, or until crispy and well-browned.

Whisk together tahini and lemon juice until smooth and creamy. Stir in garlic and salt to taste. Whisk in a couple of tablespoons of water at a time until you’ve achieved your desired consistency (I like to be able to drizzle it).

Serve falafel hot in warmed pitas with plenty of shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, and tahini sauce, or on a platter with baba ghanoush, hummus, tabbouleh, and pitas.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 10:25 am and is filed under Entrees, Hors D'oeuvres, Recipes, Sauces and Condiments, Vegan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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