Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes
Recipe Adapted From: The Spruce Eats
Falafel is a high protein vegetarian alternative to shawarma sandwiches. We combine rich and bold middle eastern flavors with simple bright and light sauce to make your taste buds go wild! This recipe was featured in our April 2022 Kitchen Intuition Cooking Class. Feel free to watch the video at the bottom of the page and cook alongside us!
Falafel Sandwich
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 to 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil, more as needed
- Pita Bread for sandwiches
- Kale
Creamy Mayo Sauce (OPTIONAL)
- 1 cup of mayo or veganese)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
DIRECTIONS:
Preparing Kale:
- Wash your kale, dry with salad spinner, paper towels, or shake off in sink
- Chop kale finely, remove large stems, place in a large bowl
- Mix in 1tbsp olive oil, 1 pinch salt, juice of ½ lime, or 1 tbsp vinegar
- Use your hands to massage salt and juice mixture into kale for 2-3 minutes
Preparing Mayo Sauce:
*hint, if you want to make a garlic aioli, fry one clove of garlic in your oil, then mix into the mayo sauce.
- Combine all ingredients, stir, add water to desired consistency (should drip off a spoon)
Preparing Falafel:
- Drain and rinse chickpeas (feel free to remove chickpea casings)
- Combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, parsley, coriander, cumin, salt, and pepper (to taste) in a medium bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of flour and combine well.
- Mash chickpeas, making sure ingredients are thoroughly mixed together and the mixture binds easily when shaped into a ball. (Alternatively, combine ingredients in a food processor. Pulse, then process, scraping down bowl occasionally with a silicone spatula, until mixture is mostly smooth, about 1 minute.) Add an extra tablespoon of flour if the mixture is too sticky. The result should be a thick paste.
- Form mixture into ping pong-sized balls. Slightly flatten.
- Add oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high until oil shimmers. Shallow-fry falafel in batches to avoid crowding pan, 2 to 5 minutes per batch, flipping when browned on one side and adding more oil, if needed. Remove from the skillet and drain on paper towels.
Preparing Pita:
- Warm pita bread in the oven at 350 degrees for 1-2 minutes.