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Last Minute Falafel

Ingredients

  • 2 15 oz. Cans Garbanzo Beans
  • 1 cup toasted almonds
  • ½ bunch fresh parsley
  • ½ bunch fresh cilantro
  • 2 small shallots or 1 large shallot
  • 1 garlic bulb
  • 1.5 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander
  • ⅓ cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp almond butter
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Salt/Pepper to taste
  • Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  • Using a sharp knife, finely chop the cilantro and parsley. I recommend holding it in a bunch and shaving it off as thinly as possible before briefly running a knife over the whole pile. Set aside.
  • Peel and roughly chop the garlic and shallots, set aside.
  • Put the toasted almonds in a blender and pulse until it is partially ground, there should be some “almond dust” mixed with slightly larger pieces of chopped almonds. You do not want to over grind the almonds, as the larger pieces are going to help add crunch to the texture, making up for the softness of the canned garbanzo beans. Set almonds aside.
  • Drain the garbanzo beans, but reserve the liquid. Put garbanzo beans, chopped garlic/shallot, almond butter, salt, pepper, coriander, and cumin into a blender or food processor and process until the garbanzo beans are mostly broken down, but not down into a hummus-like paste. At this point, you can add some extra virgin olive oil, or some of the reserved garbanzo bean liquid, or both, to help lubricate the mixture and break down the beans.
  • In a large bowl, mix the bean mixture, almonds, flour, and herbs, either by hand or with a rubber spatula until well combined. Set mixture in the fridge for 10 minutes.
  • At the end of ten minutes, you can begin forming the falafel. Personally, I prefer to form them into small patties, as I think it is more palatable, and they become heated through faster, so you don’t have to fry the outside so dark. Line the patties on a sheet tray, sprayed with non-stick spray.
  • Drop the falafel directly into oil, deep fry at 350 degrees until the falafel is a dark golden brown. Drain on to paper towels. I used a deep fryer for this part, a relatively cheap one from Wal-Mart. But you can also fry it in a cast iron pan filled half way full with oil. Serve with pickles, fresh vegetables, tzatziki, hummus, and pita.

Notes

I am picky in the kitchen and hate to make a mess, so if time permits, I usually prep everything ahead of time and hold it in small tupperware containers until I am ready to use it. This is not entirely necessary but it helps quiet the feeling of chaos that I think intimidates a lot of people out of the kitchen.