Until recently, if you’d asked me if I ever wanted to make falafel at home, I’d have said “sure, one day” but what I meant was “nah, why bother?” I was certain that falafel was fussy to make and had a long ingredient list. It probably related in some way to a fritter, meaning that it was bound with eggs and flour, and probably had breading on it too, all pesky steps and this is even before you get to the peskiest of all: deep-frying them. I figured that it’s one of these things that there as many recipes for as there are people who make it, thus whatever I came up with would be wrong by default – too firm or too soft, with chickpeas instead of favas or vice-versa — no matter what. But this isn’t the whole truth. The fact is that below 14th Street, there are two locations each ofTaimandMamoun’severy time I even distantly considered whether I needed a homemade falafel recipe in my life, I knew I could get a perfectly executed sandwich in my hands before I even wrote out a grocery list.
Hey, I’m not proud of this. I pride myself on being a curious person in the realm of cooking so it’s pretty pathetic that I had falafel all worked up in my head as this highly complex thing and never once, you know, read a few recipes. Had I, I’d have learned many extremely cool things about falafel such as the fact that while you do need to start with dried chickpeas (come back!), you don’t even have to cook them, or not in the classic long-simmered way, to make it. You soak them overnight in cold water, grind them up with seasonings and herbs, pack them into spoonfuls, fry them in less than an inch of oil in merely a few minutes, and that is it. There’s no egg. There’s no breading. It’s vegan, it’s gluten-free, it’s dirt cheap, and it’s easy, I mean criminally easy, to make. And I had to do it immediately.
Inreal life, however, I waited until the first night of Hanukah for two reasons, one, fried food is basically the only rule of the holiday, and two, a family member has recently gone vegan and I weirdly love the challenge of trying new menus (obviously, the meal ended withthis cake). Making falafel for 10 people was so easy, I hadspare time to killand so I decided to makepita breadtoo. Okay, I’m a little nuts but the fact is that 90% of storebought pita is dry and terrible and even the worst homemade pita, the couple that refuse to puff or puff erratically, as you see here, is still delicious.
One year ago:Dutch Apple PieTwo years ago:Union Square Cafe’s Bar Nuts,Homemade Irish Cream,Three years ago:Pull-Apart RugelachandTres Leches Cake + A Taco PartyFour years ago:Decadent Hot Chocolate MixandGingerbread BiscottiFive years ago:Sugared Pretzel CookiesandEggnog FlorentinesSix years ago:Cashew Butter BallsSeven years ago:Caesar Salad Deviled EggsEight years ago:Iced Oatmeal CookiesNine years ago:Cream Biscuits,Coffee ToffeeandVanilla Roasted PearsTen years ago:Feta SalsaandCarrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese FrostingandCranberry Vanilla Coffee CakeEleven years ago:Tiramisu Cake,Rugelach PinwheelsandChicken and DumplingsTwelve years ago:Blondies, Infinitely Adaptable,German Pancakes, andWinter Panzanella
And for the other side of the world:Six Months Ago:Linguine and Clams1.5 Years Ago:Grilled Pepper and Torn Mozarella PanzanellaandCrispy Spiced Lamb and Lentils2.5 Years Ago:The Consummate Chocolate Chip Cookie, Revisited,Charred Eggplant and Walnut Pesto Pasta Salad, andStrawberry Milk3.5 Years Ago:Crispy Frizzled ArtichokesandSaltine Crack Ice Cream Sandwiches4.5 Years Ago:Coconut Brown Butter CookiesandPasta and Fried Zucchini Salad
1/2 pound (1 1/4 cups or 225 grams) dried chickpeas1/2 a large onion, roughly chopped or 1 cup chopped scallions2 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled (I use 4 but adjust to your tastes)1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley, if you’re measuring, or a big handful1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, if you’re measuring, or a big handful1 teaspoons fine sea salt or 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes or mild ones such as urfa biber or Aleppo1 teaspoon ground cuminPeanut or vegetable oil for fryingTo serve:Pitas, tahini sauce (below),tomato-cucumber salad, harissa (homemadeorstorebought) or another hot sauce (such aszhoug), and any pickled vegetables you wish, such as cucumbers, red onion, or mango (amba)
I know many of us dread frying foods but for whatever it’s worth, making falafel involves none of the headaches that other fried foods do. You don’t need a lot of oil (3/4″ depth is fine.) You don’t need to stress over anything burning on the outside while still being unsafe to eat (fried chicken, I’m looking at you) in the middle. You don’t need to use an entire roll of paper towels and every counter in your home to drain the falafel because they weirdly don’t pick up much oil at all. In fact, I measured the oil I used before and after making falafel and found that each ball picked a scant half-teaspoon of oil. You put 3 to 4 in a pita. They are shockingly unheavy and ungreasy.
