Falafel Ain't Awful

I've heard falafel mentioned in many a movie or TV show. Usually set in New York. But I'd never tried it. Never had a desire to try it. Until recently.


My diet has changed recently. I've been moving away from a meat-centric diet and moving towards more a plant-based one. No, this is not a way to avoid saying I'm a vegetarian. I'm not not eating meat any longer. I'm just limiting the amount of meat I'm consuming these days. 

My first foray in to the Middle Eastern fast food form, I turned to a box. The resultant food item was...interesting, to say the least. Not unpleasant. But, the manufacturers of the powdered mix seemed to have Alton Brown's penchant for the over-use of cumin. I'm not a huge fan of this particular spice. 

I remembered that AB had a recipe on Good Eats for falafel. So, for my second attempt, I tried his. I used canned chickpeas. It was good. But, not great. The next time I attempted AB's recipe I was out of garbanzo beans. A trip to the interwebs showed that navy or white kidney beans could be substituted. So, I tried that. Again, good but not great. Kind of mushy. 

Finally, since I've started hording dried grains and beans I

decided to try the recipe correctly from start to finish. And everything about falafel just clicked. The texture and flavors just mixed perfectly. Or close to it. I don't have a meat grinder. And some who tried it felt that it might have been a little course. Other than that, perfection. And the cumin in this recipe is spot on. Does not need any more or less. 

I served this wrapped in flatbread with lettuce, tomato, and feta cheese. Though it is suggested to use a tahini sauce, I used AB's tzatziki sauce. I like the way the spiciness of the falafel mixes with the coolness of the yogurt and cucumber. My preference.

Summary: For those celebrating the Lenten season or who are trying to go meatless or limit the meat in their diet, this is a great way to do so. I would strongly recommend using dried chickpeas (with an overnight soak) over canned. But, either options work well.

Things to try: I would like to try a slightly finer texture. Also, I'd like to find a way to bake these rather than deep fry. Just for a little more healthy alternative.