When I think of falafel, I think of the food court at the Westlake Mall in downtown Seattle. There, on shopping trips with my friend Laura, we would stop for lunch (she would get Indian, I always opted for the gyro place). We haven’t been to the food court in a while (though we still go shopping), but the memory is still there, of watching the man behind the counter fresh-fry falafel and serve them in a gyro with tzatziki.
Inevitably, the question arose: What about making falafel at home? I knew I’d rather bake the falafel, in the interest of health and minimal kitchen messes. So I turned to a recipe from one of my college notebooks and got to it. Things were off to a good start when I saw that the falafel contain many of my favorite ingredients, like chickpeas, bulger, cilantro, and cumin. When I’m using such delicious, basic foods, it’s hard to imagine that much could go wrong.
Then it came time to mash the ingredients into a mixture I could shape into patties. The recipe said to “mash until well blended” after combining the chickpeas, cilantro, green onions, and other seasonings. This proved difficult, especially as the chickpeas don’t take well to being mashed and instead break apart or slide out from under the masher. I made it through that frustrating bit, but the second time around I put the whole mixture in the food processor to save myself the trouble. Can we stop for a moment and acknowledge the greatness of the food processor?
So I wasn’t going to mash my chickpeas by hand, but I think the resulting texture after a whirl in the food processor strikes that perfect balance between smooth and chunky, a puree with bits of chickpea still visible. This translated well to the final product, thick patties with a crunchy exterior and soft, slightly crumbly interior. The bread I bought said it was pita but was actually flatbread without a pocket, so I wrapped the bread around the patties with tahini spread on top (incidentally the tahini assisted in keeping the bread in place when wrapped around the patties).
I suggest experimenting with different sauces for the falafel patties. Tahini by itself was a little too bland, and next time I’m going to stir in some lemon juice for extra flavor. You could spread hummus on top, and enjoy chickpeas on top of more chickpeas. I won’t dissuade you.
Baked Falafel
Adapted from Cooking Light
¼ cup uncooked bulgur
2 15-ounce cans cooked chickpeas
½ cup chopped cilantro leaves
¼ cup finely diced green onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil for greasing the baking sheet
Pita breads or flatbreads
Potential garnishes: Tahini, lemon juice, Greek yogurt, hummus, hot sauce
- In a small saucepan, bring ½ cup water to boil. Add bulgur, cover, and remove from heat. Let sit off the heat until all of the water is absorbed and the bulgur is tender.
- In a large bowl, stir together the chickpeas, cilantro, green onions, flour, cumin, chili powder, and garlic. Blend in batches in a food processor until you have a smooth mixture with bits of chickpea pieces throughout. Place blended chickpea mixture in a large bowl and stir in the cooked bulgur.
- Heat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Scoop ¼ cup of the mixture out of the bowl. Shape it into a ball and flatten the ball slightly to form a patty. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chickpea mixture, placing the patties about 1/2 inch apart.
- Bake falafel patties for 12 minutes. Flip each patty and bake for an additional 12 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
- Place one patty in the pocket of a pita (or wrap a flatbread around it) and garnish with the accompaniments of your choice.
The Food Beat 