Falafel
I was never really motivated to make falafel from scratch until I grew weary of the hardened, tasteless falafel balls that I kept hopefully trying from the freezer section of various supermarkets. In hindsight, I’m not sure why it took me so long. I have loved falafel sandwiches ever since the days I prowled New York City’s Lower East Side and frequented Mamoun’s on many a late-night. Good falafel is hard to come by in the suburbs of DC so why not make my own? A quick Pinterest search directed me to Gimme Some Oven, a blog I enjoy and have cooked from before. And a cursorary scan of the recipe made me realize that the time was now.
With ingredients easily found in my pantry and a food processor, I was in business. The directions were simple (toss everything in the food processor and give it a whirl) and the requisite chill time told me that this was a perfect “make ahead” recipe–my favorite. I tweaked the recipe a bit, resulting in a better balance of spices and more balls–a win, win. During the refrigeration time I was able to take a hike (literally, as opposed to figuratively), chop up some favorite falafel toppings–tomato, onion, cucumber, lettuce–and put out the pita halves, harissa paste (or any hot sauce can substitute in a pinch) and tahini dressing.* The resulting meal would be perfect for a casual party, everyday lunch or light dinner. Any leftover falafel balls can be put in a ziplock bag and frozen for later use, although ours didn’t make it that far. They were too tempting to eat again the very next day. Enjoy!
Falafel
Falafel Sandwich