the pragmatic chef™

Ana's Falafel

150 grams (3/4 cup) dry garbanzo beans, soaked, cooked tender, mashed (this is about two cups of canned beans)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 C finely diced onion
2 t dried parsley
3/4 t kosher salt
1 clove garlic, pressed
1T AP flour
1/4-1/2 t ground cumin (depends on how much you like cumin)
ground pepper to taste

1/2 C AP flour for coating the falafel
oil for frying

Mix first nine ingredients. Put in the refrigerator for half an hour to allow the flour to take up the extra liquid and make a more cohesive mixture.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. You're actually just frying them, not submerging them so the oil should be about a centimeter deep.

Using your hands or a small cookie-dough scoop make small balls of falafel (about a heaping tablespoon) and dreadge them in flour. Work gently as they will fall apart. Place the falafel in the oil and pat them down gently so they are about the size of a small peppermint patty. Turn the patties after 2-3 minutes depending on how dark you want them. I like mine golden, not brown. Drain them on paper towels or brown paper. Salt as desired. (I tried just adding the salt to the recipe, but fried foods just have an affinity for salt on the outside.)

This makes about 15 little falafels. These are very tender and if you're used to boxed falafel, they are very fresh tasting.

They really are best with home-made pita bread which takes no effort whatsoever. And once you try it you'll never look back. Try. It. I like them with shredded carrot, cucumber rounds, baby greens, and a 50-50 plain yogurt-sour cream mixture. It would also be good with a little tahini.

Pita Bread (from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion)

3 cups (12 3/4 ounces) AP flour
2 t instant yeast (if you use regular yeast, mix it with the water and sugar, let it melt and proof, then mix it with the other ingredients)
2 t sugar
1 1/2 t salt
1 cup water
2 T (7/8 ounce) vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients, making a shaggy dough. Knead by hand until the dough is smooth (10 minutes). Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rest for an hour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide it into eight pieces. Roll them into 6-inch circles. This is important. The circles should be a little less than a centimeter thick so they'll puff up. Too thin and they'll just burn. Place the circles (probably just two of them if you've got conventional sized cookie sheets) on a lightly greased baking sheet (also important) and let them rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees--important that it's fully preheated. Place the baking sheet in the lowest rack in the oven and bake the pitas until they puff up. Once they puff, transfer the baking sheet to the middle-to-top rack and bake for 2 minutes more. Remove them from the oven and wrap them in a clean dish towel. Repeat the process with the remaining dough circles.

Try to wait for the falafel to eat the pitas. Leftover pitas are great for breakfast sandwiches--scrambled eggs, cheese, and bacon are my favorite. (Egg beaters, that skinny microwave bacon, and cheese are a less-rich but satisfying alternative.)