Homemade Falafels
My little sister is primarily plant-based, so when I had her round for dinner I had to come up with a fully plant-based dinner. As I was browsing recipes to create my menu for our little dinner party, I didn’t want a recipe that required me to buy loads of vegan/vegetarian alternatives of butter/eggs/milk/cheeses, that would then just go to waste (#sustainability).
Falafels are such delicious food and gave me lots of options for sides. We served ours with the pitas, hummus, salads, chips (and tzatziki for the non-vegans)!
Now I did not calculate how much protein was in these as I was really just focusing on trying to make them a delicious meal, but in the future I will try and be more aware of the complete protein content in vegan and vegetarian meals as I know it is something that can be a little more of a struggle.
Ingredients:
2 cups dried chickpeas (Do NOT use canned or cooked chickpeas…this was the advice given to me on the recipe and I just rolled with it)
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
¾ cup fresh coriander leaves
½ cup fresh dill
1 small onion cut up
7-8 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped up
Salt to taste
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Oil for frying
Instructions:
(One day in advance) Place the dried chickpeas and baking soda in a large bowl filled with water to cover the chickpeas by at least 2 inches. Soak overnight for 18 hours (longer if the chickpeas are still too hard). When ready, drain the chickpeas completely and pat them dry.
Add the chickpeas, herbs, onions, garlic and spices to the large bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade. Run the food processor 40 seconds at a time until all is well combined forming the falafel mixture.
Transfer the falafel mixture to a container and cover tightly. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or (up to one whole night) until ready to cook.
Just before frying, add the baking powder and sesame seeds to the falafel mixture and stir with a spoon.
Scoop tablespoonfuls of the falafel mixture and form into patties (½ inch in thickness each). It helps to have wet hands as you form the patties.
Add a decent amount of oil to a pan. Heat the oil on medium-high until it bubbles softly. Carefully drop the falafel patties in the oil, let them fry for about 3 to 5 minutes or so until crispy and medium brown on the outside. Avoid crowding the falafel in the saucepan, fry them in batches if necessary. I also cooked one on its own first to make sure the oil wasn’t too hot that it would burn the falafel.
Place the fried falafel patties in a colander or plate lined with paper towels to drain.
