Crispy Falafels Recipe

I don’t know about you, but I’m a “market” person. I absolutely love going to farmers markets, seeing what the local specialties are, and just immersing myself in the culture of it all. Markets are a beautiful thing, and in Europe, markets are exceptionally beautiful. I feel like it’s the best place to really experience local life.

Knowing my love for markets, my lovely friend would make a point of scoping them out in every new city we were in. Even though Vienna was raining and pouring its’ heart out, we made a point of making to its’ famous Naschmarkt, Vienna’s biggest open air market and a real international experience. There were hundreds of stands filled with olives, tapenades, dried fruits, fresh produce, oils, vinegars and more. My kind of heaven.

Also placed throughout the market were little restaurants. We were surprised to find a lot of Asian influenced eateries but knew that we were more likely to find better Asian food at home. So we used our handy dandy Trip Advisor City Guide and found the best restaurant at Naschmarkt, Neni. Neni is a cute little shack that serves up delicious middle eastern fare with lots of delicious vegetarian options.

We were all ravenous so many of us ordered the Jerusalem Plate – hummus, grilled onions and peppers, grilled chicken and tons of spices that you could dig up with your white fluffy pita bread. I opted for the falafel salad and was blown away by the explosion of flavour in my mouth. The salad had a simple pomegranate vinaigrette and the falafels were perfectly fried and crispy morsels of goodness. My top meal in Vienna hands-down (wienerschnitzel is not my thing).

So when I got home, I was determined to make my own perfect falafels, and I must say they were pretty darn good for my first time round. You can enjoy them on a salad, in a pita with some avocado and tomato, or just on their own. Bon appetit!

Recipe: Crispy Falafels

Ingredients:

Falafels:

1 3/4 cups dry chickpeas (garbanzo beans), soaked overnight
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 small handful of parsley, chopped and stems removed
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice, or 1 small lemon
1 – 2 tbsp all purpose flour (enough to slightly hold the mixture together)
1 egg, lightly beaten
vegetable oil for frying

Lemon Yogurt Dressing:

1/4 cup oil (canola, olive, safflower, or grapeseed)
2 tbsp lemon juice or 1 small lemon
1/4 cup yogurt (non-Greek)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
salt

1- Take your soaked peas and drain all the water out of them after soaking them overnight.

2- Put half of them in the food processor and chop them up until they’re broken into smaller pieces. Place them in a separate bowl.

3- Put the rest of the chickpeas into the food processor with the garlic, onions, parsely (cilantro), cumin powder, cayenne, baking soda, salt and lemon juice. Process them until a paste is formed.

4- Add the other bowl of chopped up chickpeas back into the paste and mix together to combine.

5- Stir in the flour and egg.

6- Grab a small handful of the chickpea mixture and roll into a 1-inch ball. Place onto a plate (if you put a piece of parchment over the plate it helps with the sticking afterwards – evidently I forgot this step).

7- When you’ve rolled all the mixture into balls, place them into the fridge and let them sit for 15 minutes.

8- Place enough oil in a frying pan to cover 2/3 of the falafel. Turn the heat to med-high. Before frying the falafels wait for the oil to fully heat.

9- Remove the falafels from the fridge. Carefully slide 5 or 6 falafels at a time into the oil. Do not drop them into the oil or they will fall apart.

10- Fry for one minute on each side or until the falafel has turned a medium shade of brown. Remove from the oil and place onto a paper towel. Continue frying until all of the falafel are cooked.

11- In a mason jar or any jar with a lid, add all of the dressing ingredients. Shake until combined.

12- If you like your falafels in a pita – cut a whole wheat pita in half, slice up an avocado, throw in 3-4 falafels, add some cherry tomatoes, drizzle some of the lemon yogurt sauce and you are good to go!

Happy eating!