I've tried so many falafel recipes over the years, with varying degrees of success. This one is my favourite. It's really easy to make BUT you must use dried chickpeas which need soaking overnight (if you do it with tinned chickpeas the mixture just falls apart!). The addition of spring onions and a little lemon zest also lift the mixture, but feel free to use a standard small onion and omit the zest if you prefer.
Makes about 20 falafel
Ingredients
200g dried chickpeas + 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
6 spring onions
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of fresh coriander
2 heaped teaspoons of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of dried mint
1 heaped teaspoon of ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
zest of half a lemon
2 teaspoons of sea salt
vegetable oil (enough to shallow fry the falafel in)
Directions
Place the chickpeas and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl and cover with plenty of water.
Cover with cling film and leave overnight (they will swell up beautifully).
Place all of the falafel ingredients into a food processor and blitz until a small coarse crumb is produced (that will hold together when you squash some between your fingers).
Decant the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for as long as you can.
Heat enough oil gently in a pan to allow you to shallow fry the falafel.
Mould the falafel into approximately 20 walnut sized patties (i prefer mine to be less round so that I don't need to use too much oil in the pan).
Test the oil with a small amount of falafel mixture to make sure that it is hot enough, it should fry lightly (otherwise the patties will suck up the oil and be greasy).
Cook in batches (don't overcrowd the pan) for approximately 3 minutes, turning the patties over half way through cooking.
Remove from the pan and place on a sheet of kitchen paper.
These are great to nibble on when you're peckish but I love to eat these in a wrap with a dollop hummus, some finely sliced red cabbage and carrot, chopped cucumber and some tahini dressing. Delicious!