Falafels

Serves 6-8 

Adapted from The Mediterranean Dish

This is definitely a dish I have grown to love since moving to the south-west of Sydney. We have a local Iraqi bakery and they bake the most more-ish fresh Iraqi bread, and used to serve these amazing falafel salad sandwiches for a bargain $5! Sadly the falafel part of the store has closed, though there are about another 5 falafel sandwich stores within the next block or two, but I finally thought maybe it's time to try to make it ourselves. 

The recipe from The Mediterranean Dish was pretty spot-on with helpful tips and a great video too, highly recommend! I left out the coriander as I'm not a big fan, but otherwise really loved the mix of fresh herbs and spices. A very satisfying meal, and can even freeze some for later too!

Prep time: 40 min (but need to soak chickpeas overnight first)

Cooking time: 20-30 min, depending on how many batches you're doing and if you are making eggplant too

Ingredients

2 cups dried chickpeas (Do NOT use canned or cooked chickpeas)

1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup (45g) fresh parsley leaves, stems removed
1/2 cup (25g) fresh dill, stems removed
1 small onion, quartered
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp salt 
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1/4 cup plain flour (optional, helps to make them firm before frying)
Oil for frying

To serve;

Pita pockets or Iraqi bread
Hummus

Garlic sauce or aioli

Lettuce

2 eggplants, sliced into 1cm thick - to deep-fry also

Roasted capsicum

1 cucumber, thinly sliced 
125 g cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 Spanish onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup (25g) parsley, finely chopped

olive oil

lemon juice

salt

Method
1. (One day in advance) Place the dried chickpeas and baking soda in a large bowl filled with water to cover the chickpeas by at least 2 inches. Soak overnight for 18 hours (longer if the chickpeas are still too hard). When ready, drain the chickpeas completely and pat them dry.
2. Add the chickpeas, herbs, onions, garlic and spices to the large bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade. Run the food processor 40 seconds at a time until all is well combined, slightly grainy and not too wet to form the falafel mixture.

NB. You may need to do this in 2 batches depending on the size of your food processor. This took longer than expected as it's quite a big batch of chickpeas!

3. Transfer the falafel mixture to a container and cover tightly. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or (up to one whole night) until ready to cook.
4. Just before frying, add the baking powder, sesame seeds and flour to the falafel mixture and stir with a spoon. Scoop tablespoonfuls of the falafel mixture and form into patties (1/2 inch in thickness each). It helps to have wet hands as you form the patties.
5. Fill a medium saucepan 2 inches up with oil. Heat the oil on medium-high until it bubbles softly. Carefully drop the falafel patties in the oil, let them fry for about 3 to 5 minutes or so until crispy and medium brown on the outside. Avoid crowding the falafel in the saucepan, fry them in batches if necessary.

6. Place the fried falafel patties in a colander or plate lined with paper towels to drain.

If serving as sandwiches;
7. Prepare the eggplant by slicing into 1cm thick chunks, salt and leave for 15-30 minutes. Pat dry then deep-fry until golden brown. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

8. Prepare the salad ingredients and combine with olive oil, salt and lemon juice to taste.

9.  Assemble sandwiches with Iraqi bread or pita pockets with hummus, lettuce, roasted capsicum, salad, falafel and eggplant!