Falafel is one of our favorite Middle Eastern snacks, so once we had homemade pita, it seemed natural to progress to homemade falafel! We weren't in the mood for deep-frying, so we hunted around for recipes that bake the falafel in the oven. This one from the blog Chow Vegan really hit the spot!
First, here's the recipe:
• Baked Falafel from Chow Vegan
If you're new to making falafel (as we are), this is a good recipe to start with. It is made simply with canned garbanzo beans that you mash with a fork and then mix with a few other basic ingredients. It took us all of five minutes to make the raw falafel and get it in the oven.
To get a little extra crispiness on these baked falafel, you form the balls and then press them into patties against the baking sheet. The bits that are in direct contact with the baking sheet get really toasty and golden. We were a little nervous that the falafel would fall apart when we flipped them, but as long as we were gentle, they held together very well.
The baked falafel got two thumbs up from our dinner crowd. The outside of the falafel had a toasty crunch while the insides were creamy and warm. They were well-seasoned, but the nutty flavor of the chickpeas still shone through. With a little tzatziki sauce and folded into a fresh chewy pita, this meal was out of this world!
If you like your falafel really crunchy, try rolling the chick pea balls in panko bread crumbs before patting them flat and baking them. We'd also recommend making slightly larger falafel than the recipe mentions to get a good ratio of crunchy outside to soft inside.
We'd also like to try making these on the stove top for a quick summer meal when we don't want to turn on the oven. We think a very thin film of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat with a few minutes on each side should do the trick quite nicely.
Have you cooked falafel at home? Any other pointers?
Related: Turkish Doner Kebabs in Germany
(Images: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)
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I shallow-fry my felafel and it works great for me. The texture isn't as great as deep-fried, but it's so much less mess. I make them into patties, rather than balls, so they cook all the way through and fry in about 1/8-1/4" of olive oil.
I've had the worst luck using canned chickpeas, though. The mixture is always so wet--I just use dry and plan ahead a bit.
I'll have to give this a go. I've tried several falafel recipes, and every single one gave me a huge pan of mush. If this doesn't work I'll try ditching the canned chickpeas based on sjbreeze's comment.
def. going into my evernote - im so excited about this!
Dried chickpeas that have been soaked are definitely the best way to go when making falafel. I've developed a workaround for canned. though if you feel like making chickpea fritters in a pinch - use chickpea flour to keep it from getting too mushy. (I have a recipe here.) However, I will definitely be trying this recipe in the oven to see how it goes. I love the idea of the crispy parts (since that is the best part, of course!)
I tried the recipe tonight, and I was really, really pleased with the results. The mix wasn't too moist and the patties held together, no problem at all! Quick, easy, tasty, and healthy!
Bitar's in Philly makes a delicious grilled falafel. It is a combo of both Fava beans and chickpeas. The recipe is posted here.
http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=27228
They also have the recipe for the salad dressing and salad that goes in the pita but when it says diced dill pickle I'm sure its diced pickled turnips.
Here is the Bitar recipe link.
The above one no longer has it.
http://www.low-carb-recipes.ws/Bitars_Pan_Grilled_Falafel_with_Salad_in_Garlic_Dressing.html
Just wanted to add that the Bitar's recipe is using both dried
chickpeas and dried fava beans. I think the fava beans make a nice addition.
The Leon restaurant in London sells a delicious sweet potato falafel that is also easy to make at home and is baked in the oven. (You need some cooked sweet potato, though, so a bit of planning ahead with organised leftovers makes it easier.) Very tasty!
LOVE this recipe. Tried it months ago using canned chickpeas and it turned out great. Might make again and soak dry chickpeas this time to see if I notice a difference.