Falafel

I make no claim to the authenticity of this. Its not something I learned as a kid, but this Lebanese woman keeps asking for my recipe. So I posted it here ;)

Falafel is a middle eastern, fried, spiced, garbanzo or fava bean patty.

I use garbanzo beans or chickpeas, and I insist on starting from dried beans. Canned beans are unappealing. The only real prep you need to do is soak the beans in water 12-24 hours ahead of needing to use them.

You will need

1 cup (250ml) Dry garbanzo beans (chickpeas) soaked for 24 hours

1 - 2 Tbs (15 -30ml) Tahini - This is like peanut butter made from sesame seeds

1/2 small onion roughly chopped ~1cup(250ml)

1/4 cup (60ml) chopped fresh parsley and 1/4 cup(60ml) chopped fresh cilantro Or 1/2c (125ml)of one of the greens.

3-5 cloves garlic

1-2tbsp (15-30ml) lemon juice or the juice of 1 lemon

2 tsp (10ml) flour (this is a binder in case of celiacs you could omit or replace this with something like a little flax seed flour)

3/4 tsp (4ml) baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp (15ml) ground cumin

1/4 tsp (1ml) ground cayenne pepper

(optional)

1/2 tsp (2-3ml) ground coriander

1/4 tsp (1ml) ground black pepper

1/4 tsp (1ml) ground paprika

Add everything to a food processor and blend until grain size is 1/4-1/2 a rain of rice in size

I have tried shallow frying and a couple other methods, and actually frying gives the best results including the least amount of grease left in the food.

I don't use a thermometer but I bet the temp is 350-375f (175-190c) its a hot fry.

Fry until dark golden brown.

I like onion and cucumber quick pickles with my gyro. To make these pickles I mix together

1/2cup (125ml) white vinegar (1/2 balsamic 1/2 white/apple is a good flavor too)

1/2cup (125ml) Mirin (Japanese sweetened cooking wine, this can be substituted with sherry, sweet marsala or white wine. add ~1 tablespoon (15ml) sugar per cup(250ml) wine if its unsweetened)

Thin slice veg, lightly salt and let sit in the pickle for at least an hour.

Tzatziki: Blend the following till smooth in a food processor, let sit at least 3 hours.

1cup greek yogurt (250ml)

1 tablespoon lemon juice (15ml)

1 clove garlic

1/2 a cucumber (250g) ~ 1/2 pound

1/2 tablespoon fresh dill (8ml)

Salt and black pepper to taste