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Falafel

From Farm Where Life is Good

<p>The uncooked, just soaked/sprouted, chickpeas/garbage beans surprised me. But this recipe is fabulous. And highly adaptable with tweaks to the spices and vegetables added. Yes, it is fried in oil, but we&#8217;ll let that slide (no pun intended!) As MP put it to me, &#8220;This is stupid good.&#8221; We whole-heartedly agree.</p>
Source: Adaped from epicurious.com (Entered by Lara Rasmussen Anderson)
Serves: 3-4


Ingredients
1 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1/2 large onion, rough chop (~1cup)
2 Tbsp parsley, rough chop
2 Tbsp cilantro, rough chop (or more!)
1 sweet pepper, rough chop
1 tsp salt
1 jalapeno/peperoncini pepper or 1/2-1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp baking powder
4-6 Tbsp flour
High-heat vegetable oil for frying

Step by Step Instructions
  1. Put the chickpeas in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Let soak overnight, then drain. Or use canned chickpeas, drained.
  2. Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed.
  3. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough flour so that the dough forms a small ball or patty and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for several hours.
  4. Form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts or patties, or use a falafel scoop, available in Middle-Eastern markets.
  5. Heat 1/2 inch of oil to 375 degrees in a heavy pad (cast iron works well) and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little flour. Then fry about 6 balls at once for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
  6. Serve alongside cucumber/dill/Sour Supreme salad or stuff half a pita with falafel balls, chopped tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and pickled turnips. Drizzle with tahini thinned with water.