Falafel

Heya,

Something big I missed due to the pandemic was going on Israel tour with my friends. Whilst I did miss my GCSEs as well - for me the biggest loss was tour as I had been looking forward to it since I was about 12. My youth movement planned a virtual tour for us - one of the activities including my favourite: cooking and baking! We got to make classic Arab/Israeli dishes such as falafel and hummus and I have since been adapting the recipe to make my own version of the perfect falafel. The beauty of falafel is, once you have combined your basic ingredient: chickpeas, and a binding agent, the rest is up to you! This works well with my family as despite being of a jewish heritage, all of us have at least one ingredient in falafel that we simply "can't have!" For my mum, it is parsley- she can't stand the herb and will often not eat a whole dish just because of a simple sprig of it. Typically, falafel does have parsley however my recipe is perfect even without it (even if I do say so myself!). The beauty of this recipe is also the fact it cant be done without any oil- if you are looking for an alternative (To clarify there is nothing bad about oil some people just like drier falafel!) by cooking them in the air fryer however the version of my recipe I wanted to share is the classic: fried, crispy, crumbly, bursting with flavour falafel. I hope your family love it as much as we all do!

Here is my recipe for Falafel:

Ingredients: (Makes 12-18 balls depending on the size)

• 1tbs Olive Oil+ more if deep frying not air frying
• 1 small Onion, finely chopped
• 2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
• 1 can Chickpeas (400g), drained
• 2tsp Cumin
• 1tsp Yemenite Spice
• 1 small Egg (if vegan binding agents such as flax eggs work well!)
• 1-3tbs Cornflour, depending on the texture of the dough

Optional Add Ins:

• Parsley, finely chopped  
• Coriander, finely chopped

Method:

1. In a small frying pan, fry the onion and garlic in the oil until browned- this will take around 5-7 minutes
2. In a standard blender (not a strong one as you will want the pieces of chickpea to remain relatively big!) blend the chickpeas and spices (and herbs if using)
3. Pour the chickpea contents into a bowl and mix with the fried onion mixture and egg - based on how wet the mixture is, add the cornflour until a mouldable dough forms
4. roll the mixture into equal sized balls and place on a tray- leave to "dry" for around an hour
5. If deep frying, pour the olive oil into a large pan and place on a medium heat until bubbling
6. Add you falafel balls, letting them fry for around 6 minutes but turning them regularly
7. If air frying, preheat the air fryer then bake for 10 minutes at 200'c making sure to shake them once or twice
8. Serve with pita, salad and lot of hummus
9. Enjoy!!

Comment below if you have made this bake or have any questions!
Lottie X