favorite falafels with tahini dressing

Let’s see if we can breathe some life back into this old blog! Why not start with one of my all-time favorite recipes: Falafel. I have a pile of these in my freezer at all times. Two pan-fried falafels over a hefty bed of lettuce make for a filling, protein-filled vegetarian meal.

There are a million falafel recipes out there, but what I wanted out of mine was a very fresh, green interior to mirror some miniature falafels I had in NYC many years ago. After playing around with a few recipes, I landed on these. Fresh green herby interiors, a punch of salt, with a hint of cumin and kick of red pepper.


I don’t keep my falafels in the traditional round shape because I like to avoid deep frying. By forming them into patties, I can do a light pan fry in coconut oil for a healthier meal. Below, I give directions on how to make a batch to freeze and then how to use them from the freezer.


FALAFEL

Ingredients:

½ cup (packed) cilantro, rinsed and dried
½ cup (packed) parsley (curly or flat, it doesn’t matter), rinsed and dried
½ large onion
3 small garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon cumin
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons salt
3 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (I definitely recommend taking the time to soak dried beans overnight and cook them fresh. They blow their canned counterparts away)
4-6 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Coconut oil for pan frying

Directions:

(1) Add cilantro, parsley, onion, garlic cloves, cumin, red pepper flakes and salt to the bowl of a food processor and process until finely blended together.

(2) Add the chickpeas in three batches, pulsing 3-5 times after each addition. Adding them in this way leaves different sized chickpea bits within the falafel - a little added texture that I love. If you prefer a smoother, more homogenous falafel, add chickpeas all together and process until completely blended.

(3) Turn out the mixture from the food processor and put in a large bowl. Add the baking powder and 3 tablespoons of flour. Mix until a dough begins to form, adding additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time just until it starts to stick. You may not need the full 6 tablespoons.

(4) Form falafel balls on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer, moving them to a freezer storage bag once they’ve hardened.

PREPARING FROZEN FALAFELS: 

(1) Place a small pan over medium heat. Place only enough coconut oil to generously cover the bottom of the frying pan.

(2) Remove desired number of falafels from freezer and place on a microwave-safe dish. Two falafels take 2 minutes for me under the timed defrost setting on my microwave, with one flip of the falafels halfway through defrosting.

(3) Press defrosted falafels between your palms to form a patty and place in the hot pan with coconut oil. Cooking them as a patty means you do not need to submerge them completely in oil and can do a simple, healthier pan fry. 

(4) Check for brownness. Once crisp and brown, flip and pan fry other side.

(5) Once done, place falafels on paper towels to soak up extra oil.

(6) Serve over a bed of lettuce. My favorite toppings: tomato, cucumber, red onion, feta and either a drizzle of olive oil or tahini dressing (recipe below).

TAHINI DRESSING

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons tahini paste
¼ warm water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 glug olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

(1) Add tahini paste to a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the warm water while whisking until you get a pourable consistency.

(2) Add lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper and whisk until blended.

(3) Drizzle over falafel salad.