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Falafel with Tahini Sauce
When it comes to falafel, there are not many pieces to the puzzle, but every piece counts. Attention to detail is important, otherwise you will have lackluster falafel. In this recipe, I aim to teach you how each puzzle piece fits.
Ingredients
Falafel
- 225 g dried chickpeas, ½lb
- 1000 g/mL water (for soaking), 4–5c
- 100 g red onion, chopped, 1 medium
- ∙10 g garlic, 2 cloves
- 25 g jalapeño, chopped, 1 small
- 12 g salt, 2t
- 5 g ground cumin, 2t
- 2 g ground coriander, 1t
- 2 g ground turmeric, 1t
- 25 g parsley, stems removed, ½c
- 25 g cilantro, stems ok, ½c
- 2–3 L high smoke point oil (peanut, canola, grapeseed, etc, for frying), 2–3qt
Tahini Sauce
- 150 g tahini paste (pourable style), 2/3c
- 20 g lemon juice, 1½T
- 3–4 g salt, ¾t
- 1 small garlic clove, chopped, chopped
- 100–130 g water, as needed Instructions, ½–⅔c
Instructions
- Soak chickpeas: Add dried chickpeas to 1000g water. Soak overnight. Drain well in a colander for 5–10 min before processing.
- Speed-soak option: Boil 1L water, add chickpeas + 10g baking soda, cover, and place in 180°F/80°C oven for 90 min. Drain well.
- Process chickpeas: Transfer drained beans to a food processor. Pulse 25–30 times, scraping sides halfway. Aim for a texture like finely chopped garlic.
- Make herb paste: In the processor, combine onion, garlic, jalapeño, salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric, parsley, and cilantro. Blend 1 min into a smooth herb paste.
- Combine: Stir herb paste into chickpeas. Test mixture by squeezing—should hold together. If crumbly, pulse slightly more. Chill mix 30 min.
- Form falafel: Scoop 40g portions (about 15–17 pieces). Press gently between palms until compact balls form.
- Fry: Heat 2–3L oil in a heavy pot to 350°F/175°C, about 2″ deep (never more than ½ way up your fry pot). Fry falafel in batches of 8 depending on size pot, carefully lowering into oil. Don’t disturb for 2 min, then agitate/turn gently. Fry 6–7 min total, until deep reddish-golden brown. Drain on wire rack.
- Tahini sauce: In a tall container, combine tahini, lemon juice, salt, and garlic. Blend with immersion blender until thick. Slowly stream in 100–130g water until smooth and pourable. Adjust with more water or lemon as needed.
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