It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here!! I shot out of bed like a kid on Christmas morning today, knowing that today was the day I got to post one of my all-time favourite dishes EVER.
Falafel. The best DAMN falafel I’ve ever had. It’s ridiculously crispy on the outside, wonderfully fluffy on the inside, fresh, vibrant, and perfectly spiced.
A strong word of caution before we proceed: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE CANNED CHICK PEAS FOR THIS RECIPE. IT WILL NOT WORK. Trust me. Please. Just trust me.
You might be looking for a recipe for tonight’s dinner, find out you have to use soaked chick peas, then think, “Ah, I don’t have time for that. I’ll just use canned instead.” BIG MISTAKE. Soaked chick peas have a very different texture and moisture content than canned chick peas. In order to get the fluffiness and crispiness of this falafel, it is absolutely necessary to use fresh. If you use canned, the mixture will be too wet, and will end up looking like hummus. You will have to add lots of flour to bind it, and lots of flour = a soft, chewy consistency we are not aiming for.
Alright, onto what makes this the BEST DAMN FALAFEL EVER. I use a ton of herbs, including parsley, cilantro, and mint, which make the finished falafel so so fresh. Here’s what our resident RHN, Connie Oickle, has to say about these herbs:
Fresh herbs carry some of the highest vibrations out of any foods. They are a miracle food. Parsley, in particular, contains an oil called eugenol that has been shown to have strong anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic properties. Cilantro supports strong vision with its large stores of Vitamin A, and mint can aid in the relief of digestive disorders such as IBS.
Another zip of vibrance in this dish comes from the addition of lemon zest. In case you missed it, head over to my most recent recipe, Chunky Fresh Salsa. Scroll down until you see the ‘Time Saver Badge’, where you will find a wicked tip on utilizing fresh citrus juice and zest.
You want the consistency of the falafel mixture to be that of a small crumb, similar to couscous. Any chunkier and you will have a hard time getting it to stick together, any smaller and you might end up with hummus.
Chilling the processed falafel mix for at least one hour before frying helps firm it up a bit. This stuff can be somewhat tricky to work with. It is very delicate, and falls apart easy, but that is the consistency required to produce the crispiest, fluffiest falafel.
I always form up a few extra patties, just in case a couple fall apart when I transfer them from the cutting board to the fry pan. Because the mixture is so delicate, a couple usually do. Don’t feel bad if this happens! Just use a small metal strainer to scoop the rogue bits from the pan, and add them on top of your dish for extra crispiness!
If you cannot get the falafel to bind, add a tablespoon of grape seed oil. If it’s still being a pain the arse, you can add 1 or 2 tablespoons of flour. Always use this as a last resort though, because the less flour = crispier and fluffier falafel.
If you missed the recipes for the delicious toppings pictured above, you can find them here – Spicy Red Pepper Hummus, Mint Cashew Cream, and Chunky Fresh Salsa.
Alright gang, are you READY for this?!?
Yes. You are. You were BORN to make and eat falafel. OH BABYYY!
The Best Damn Falafel
No other falafel holds a candle to this one. It's intensely crispy on the outside, wonderfully fluffy on the inside, and seasoned to utter perfection.
Ingredients
- 4 cups soaked chick peas around 2 cups dried – chickpeas double in size when soaked
- 1 large onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp. lemon zest
- 1 c. fresh parsley tightly packed
- ½ c. fresh cilantro
- ¼ c. fresh mint
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. coriander
- ¼ tsp. cayenne
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil if your mixture is not binding after you’ve refrigerated it
- 1 -2 tbsp flour if mixture still isn’t binding after you’ve added the oil
- Grape seed oil for frying
- Salt for sprinkling on finished falafel
Instructions
- Soak your chick peas in a bowl of fresh water for a minimum of 8 hours. Leave plenty of room in the bowl for them to expand, and add plenty of water for them to absorb.
- Once your chickpeas have soaked, rinse them well before adding them to a food processor. (Depending on the size of your food processor, you might have to make this in two batches.)
- Roughly chop the onion and add it to the processor.
- Add the garlic, lemon zest, fresh herbs, spices, and salt, and process until the bits are between the size of cooked quinoa and rice.
Put the mixture into a metal or glass bowl, seal, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm up.
- Once the mixture has chilled, remove it from the fridge.
Fill a large skillet with grape seed or other high smoke point cooking oil. The amount you use will vary depending on the size of your skillet. You want the oil to cover more than half of your falafel (oil level will drop as falafel absorbs it).
- Turn the burner to medium heat.
While the oil heats, form the patties. To do this, take a small scoop of falafel in one hand, cup it in your palm, and using the first two fingers of your other hand, press tightly into your palm to pack it together. (There might be some excess moisture that seeps out due to the water content of the fresh herbs. That’s okay!)
Once the patty holds together in your palm, gently place it either on a cutting board or the counter, so you can easily scoop it up with a lifter.
To test if the oil is the right temperature, grab a little bit of mixture, squeeze it into a ball, and carefully place it into the oil. It should sizzle right away. If it doesn't, you need to wait a little longer, or turn the temperature up slightly. If it turns brown in less than 30 seconds, the oil is too hot. In this case, turn the temperature down slightly, remove the pan from the heat, and return it after a few minutes. If at any point your oil starts to smoke, the temperature is too high. (Frying is a bit of an art, as every stove, skillet, and oil are different, but the more you do it, the more confident you will become. Always fry a small test fritter first, and that way you won’t ruin your whole meal.)
Use a metal flipper or metal tongs to pick up the fritters and gently place them into the oil. Do not overcrowd the pan.
The falafel will need 3-5 minutes per side to cook, depending on the size of fritters. Once they are golden brown, they are ready to be flipped.
Remove the cooked falafel and place on a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess oil.
Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Eat cooked fritters immediately, otherwise they will lose crispiness. Uncooked mixture can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
As always, nutritional information is a rough estimate. For a full explanation of nutritional analysis, please read our Disclaimer.
If you made this recipe, I would be so honoured if you could rate it, share it, and leave a comment. Also, don’t forget to take a photo, tag @thedeliciousmanifest on Instagram, and hashtag it #thedeliciousmanifest. Thank you so much!!
Featured in these photos is the beautiful cutting board made for me by my enormously creative friend, carpenter and designer, Holly Bidlake of thesheddesign. Check out her stunning work here!
Connie Oickle, our resident RHN,
brings with over 10 years experience
working in the food and health
and wellness industries.
Find out more about her here!
Gratitude City!
I would like to dedicate this post to my new friend, the incredibly talented Nathan Reimnitz.
Last week, I was experiencing technical difficulties with the website. I was able to resolve two previous crashes on my own, but this scenario proved much more advanced than my beginner tech self could undertake (without pulling all my hair out). I wasn’t sure where I was going to find someone to help me, considering I live in a rural community and I always want to work with the cream of the crop. Then I found out about Codeable.
Codeable is an online resource that connects freelance web developers with clients all over the world. I signed up, and in less than 5 minutes had three expert developers interested in my project. I cannot believe my lucky stars that one of them was Nate. Codeable hires the best WordPress developers in the world, and of them, Nate is in the top 1%. I hit the freakin’ motherload man.
Not only did Nate migrate my entire site to an incredibly fast and secure host, but he did a wizard job at optimizing it for speed and efficiency. He was so patient, thorough, and gave me mountains of advice on how to keep my site running as smooth and fast as possible into the future.
After hiring Nate, an incredible weight was lifted off my shoulders – one I didn’t even realize I was carrying. I am now able to concentrate almost entirely on creating content, and my days are infinitely more fun and relaxed because of him.
If you ever need help with your website, or know a friend who does, I highly recommend using Codeable, and hiring this incredibly talented, supremely motivated man – Mr. Nathan Reimnitz. Thank you so much Nate!!