Recipe: Falafel

Use these easy, delicious protein-packed patties with summer veggies for pita sandwiches, salads, or on their own with your favorite dipping sauce. You can find dried garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas), garlic, onions, parsley flour and other vegetables at the Lenexa Farmers Market.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked garbanzo beans, drained and patted dry
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
½ cup parsley, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
¼ cup (+/-) flour – start with 3 tablespoons, add more as needed
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine garbanzos, garlic, red onion, parsley, cumin, coriander, and flour. Start with ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Pulse a few times and taste for salt and pepper. Check the texture – if it is still wet, add a bit more flour. You’re going for a uniform consistency, everything about the size of small peas, but don’t process it too long; you don’t want it to be a paste.
2. Dampen hands and form into balls, then smoosh them a little and arrange in a single layer on a plate. The falafel patties are easier to pan-fry if they are flatter. If your kitchen is warm, put them in the fridge while you heat your oil.
3. Heat about 1 inch of oil in a cast iron pot or other heavy pan until a test drop of water sizzles and pops.
4. Fry falafel patties on both sides until brown and remove to paper-towel-lined plate.

For sandwiches/salads:

Sandwich: Cut pita bread in half. Smear inside with hummus and layer lettuce, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, falafel, microgreens, and/or whatever you have on hand.

Salad: Layer greens, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and falafel, and drizzle with tahini sauce or hummus thinned to a drizzle consistency.