Cooking is LOVE made visible
Going out to eat is always an adventure for me. I am very picky when it comes to food because I really want the best otherwise I feel dissatisfied and keep searching until I find the most delicious spot in town. Many dishes are made in a rush these days and not with love and passion like the the foods your grandma used to cook for you. That´s why I decided to recreate the tastiest meals that my friends and I discovered while traveling around the globe. The most important benefit by cooking by myself is definitely the knowledge about whats inside. You never know what kind of ingredients restaurants or fast food chains put into their meals but I´d like to control what I put into my body.
Today I wanted to try out a dish that actually comes from the Middle East. It is called "Falafel". People mostly combine it with fresh baked bread, salad or tasty sauces. I first discovered Falafel in a flatbread, wrapped together with a salad and Tzatziki. It was so tasty and a complete new flavor for me. But it can be served in many different ways. I focused on creating the main dish so let me know if you want to see some examples what you can add to the Falafel so it becomes a whole meal.
Falafel
Ingredients
for 5 servings
- 15 oz cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 red onion, chopped
- ¼ cup (10 g) fresh parsley
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup (115 g) bread crumbs
- oil, for frying
Before you start to blend the ingredients together in a mixer, make sure to drain and rinse the chickpeas properly. After that is done, add the drained and rinsed chickpeas, onion, parsley, garlic, lemon juice and spices. I recommend a 2-quart food processor but a normal mixer is working as well.
After you blended everything together, put the chickpea mixture into a bowl and add the bread crumbs. Now mix it until just incorporate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, or overnight. It takes some time before you can work with the chickpea mixture but trust me, it´s worth the wait.
If the time is up, remove the bowl from the refrigerator and start to shape the falafel mixture into 1-inch balls. The mixture should yield 18-20 balls.
You are almost done!
In a frying pan with high sides, heat about 1 inch of oil to 350˚F (180˚C). Fry the falafel balls in batches of 6 for 3-6 minutes, flipping halfway. Once they are golden brown and crispy, transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt.
To finish it up, serve the Falafel as desired. Wrapped up in a pita break, as a salad topping or with a delicious tahini sauce.
- Et Violà -
Have you ever tried homemade Falafel?
Thanks for reading
Stay focused
Love, Soldier