FALAFEL.- Vegetarian, healthy, flavorful and wonderful...

 FALAFEL.- A lovely Middle Eastern dish that is worth getting to know and make often. The flavor is amazing plus lots of nutrition too. Just look at the ingredients in the recipe and you'll see why I say that and once you try it you'll know too. It's a wonderful alternative that you can give your family, give your household budget a break and lighten your body's load...

You can call it a sandwich or a salad but it doesn't matter, it's so good. We like to have Garlic Na'an with our Falafel since it's a fluffy and tasty! There's also a recipe for this on my blog.

To make Falafel you will need:

• 2 cups chickpeas
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon whole coriander seed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
• Zest of 1 lemon
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne
• 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt, plus more for seasoning after cooking
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• oil for frying

1. 1.- If you're using dried beans: Place chickpeas in a large bowl and fill with water to cover them to a depth of 3 inches. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave on counter for 24 hours. The chickpeas will triple in size and absorb quite a bit of the water so check a few times during soaking to see if you need to add more water. Once the beans have soaked for 24 hours, drain and rinse well.
2. 2.- If you're using canned beans, drain them and rinse really well, I always peel them. Save the Aqua Faba (liquid in the beans)
3. 3.- Place the cumin and coriander seeds in an 8-inch cast-iron skillet and set over medium high heat. Cook, shaking the pan frequently, until the seeds give off an aroma and just begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the toasted spices to a spice grinder and process until finely ground If you don't have a meat grinder you can finely chop everything or use a food processor. Set aside.
4. 3.- Place the drained chickpeas, ground spices, garlic, onion, cilantro, and parsley into a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine then feed through the meat grinder in small batches until everything has been ground.
5. 4.- Mix the lemon zest, cayenne, salt, and black pepper into the ground chickpeas then roll a small amount of the mixture into a walnut sized ball or a small patty with your hands. The mixture should hold together nicely and not fall apart.
6. 5.- Continue rolling the rest of the batter into uniform size balls or patties so that they will cook in the same amount of time. I used a small ice cream scoop and had falafels that were about the size of golf balls. Place the uncooked falafel on a large plate or baking sheet until ready to cook.
7. 6.- Pour oil in a Dutch oven or a large, high-sided skillet to a depth of 2-3 inches, enough to cover the falafel. Place a thermometer into the oil and heat over med-high heat until the temperature reaches 360° - 375° F.
8. While the oil is heating place a flattened paper grocery bag onto a baking sheet and cover with a few clean paper towels. This will help to collect the oil as it drains off of your falafel.
9. 7.- When the oil is to temp fry a test falafel. The oil should bubble up and sizzle all around it. The falafel itself should stay together in one piece and not break apart at all. It should take 2 - 3 minutes to fry to a beautiful golden brown. If your falafel is not completely submerged flip and cook the other side until it’s nice and browned all over. 
10. 8.- Remove the cooked falafel from the oil and drain on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt while the falafel is still hot. Fry the remaining falafel in batches, being careful to not over crowd the pan and drop the temp of the oil.
11. NOTE: I've also used an immersion blender to grind some of the ingredients but you can use what you've got and are more comfortable with.
12. WE also prefer to make Tzatziki Sauce instead of the regular sauce since we like it better on almost everything!