Chef John's Falafel

Unlike most of America's other favorite fast foods, falafel is rarely attempted at home, which is a shame, since it's very simple to do, and even a relative novice like me can get some very decent results. One word of warning: you do need to know you're going to have a craving for this a full day before you actually want to eat it.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 30 mins
• Calories: 271 Calories

Ingredients

• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup dry garbanzo beans
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt, or to taste
• oil for frying
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, or more as needed
• ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• ½ yellow onion, diced

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Step 2

Place garbanzo beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 12 to 24 hours. Drain.

Step 3

Blend garbanzo beans, onion, parsley, garlic, flour, lemon juice, salt, cumin, coriander, baking soda, and cayenne pepper together in a food processor, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until mixture is finely ground and holds together when pressed. Transfer garbanzo mixture to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until flavors blend, 1 to 2 hours.

Step 4

Divide dough into 12 portions and roll each with moistened hands into a ball.

Step 5

Working in batches, cook falafel balls in hot oil until browned and crispy, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to drain.