Falafel with Tahini Sauce

After a weekend of over-indulgence (Saturday was Kentucky Derby AND Cinco de Mayo, mind you), Nate and I wanted something a little healthier for dinner last night. I'm not sure if fried chickpea patties necessarily fit that bill, but they were delicious and I will tell myself that they were healthy because there were so many green things in there.


Falafel


1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2 C fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 C fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 Tsp salt
Pinch freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 Tsp chili powder
2 Tsp cumin
2 Tsp baking powder
1/2 C flour
Canola oil, for frying
Pita bread, for serving


In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together onion and garlic until they are finely minced. Add in the parsley, cilantro and chickpeas. Pulse until they are thoroughly mixed and begin to form a paste. Add in the seasonings and stir to combine.


Add in the baking powder and the flour 1/4 C at a time and pulse. The goal is to have the mixture form a "dough" of sorts. You want it to stick together without being too liquid-y.


Remove to a mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the mixture to set-up in the fridge for 1 hour.


After your hour is up, heat about 2 Tbsp of canola oil in a deep skillet set over medium-high heat. Allow the oil to heat for 5 minutes before you put your first batch of falafel patties in. I used a 1/4 C measuring spoon to portion my patties and they came out to be about 2-3 oz each, obviously you can make them smaller.


After measuring out your patties, form them into discs and drop lightly in the oil. Allow them to fry up for 5 minutes per side prior to flipping. My skillet was large enough to allow me to fry 4 patties at once. Remove the cooked patties to a paper towel covered plate to remove any excess oil.


Add 1 Tbsp canola oil to the pan as needed between batches.


Serve up your falafel in a pita with some delicious Tahini Sauce or tzatziki sauce, if you prefer.


I was able to get 5 2-3 oz patties out of this recipe, but obviously I made mine rather large.


Tahini Sauce


I used this recipe for Tahini Sauce and it came out great! I even have enough leftover in my fridge to use for a tasty salad dressing this week!


You may notice that there is no photographic evidence of my beautiful falafel, I will admit that I was far too concerned with stuffing my face than I was with taking a picture but take my word that these were beautifully crisp on both sides and tasted as good as any store bought falafel one could hope to devour!


Happy eating!