July 8th--Sweeney's Test Kitchen: Falafel

Lauren: A couple recipes ago, the wonderful Brekke asked if we take requests - and we gladly do! She asked for a successful falafel recipe. We've only ever made falafel from a boxed mix, so we were intrigued by the challenge.

After some research, I found that the number one problem reported when cooking falafel was that the balls of mixture fell apart or - even worse - simply dissolved into the frying oil. That prospect was terrifying. Would we create a delicious mix, only to have it disappear into oil?

Dave: That has happened to us even when we've used the falafel mix from the grocery store. How could we make a mix that would hold up to being fried in oil and wrapped in pita...come to think of it, how do you even make pita?

Lauren: Fortunately for us, pita is a much more straightforward recipe with a considerably higher success rate.

So, ultimately, how did the falafel turn out? Well, as you can see from the pictures, they were more disks than balls, something I think could be remedied by more gradual turning with a smaller slotted spoon (I flipped them quickly from one side to the other with a large plastic slotted spoon). And the pita?

Dave: The pita turned out just great. I went with a blend of whole wheat and all purpose flour and vital wheat gluten to give the pita a nice elasticity and a nutty flavor. I also used a pizza stone to simulate the brick oven in which pita is usually cooked. I also tried not flattening one of the pitas and cooking it on a lower heat to see how it would work as a roll. The roll was yeasty and crusty. Serving a batch of these fresh out of the oven on Thanksgiving would make for a most impressive table.

Lauren: So, without further ado - No-Fail Falafel for Brekke (with bonus pita)!

Falafel:

1 cup dried chickpeas (or 1 can chickpeas)

1 medium white onion, coarsely chopped (should yield about 1 cup)

1 1/2 teaspoons parsley (fresh if possible)

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or hot chili powder

4 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon baking powder

4-6 tablespoons flour (we used all-purpose, but whole-grain or bulgur would work even better)

Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil for frying (we used safflower oil with a little sesame oil added for taste)

Put chickpeas in a large bowl and add enough water to cover them by at least two inches. Let soak overnight, then drain. (If using canned chickpeas, rinse and drain.)

Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas in a food processor with onion and process until coarsely ground (no whole chickpeas should remain). Add parsely, cumin, coriander, red pepper, garlic, and salt and pepper, then process until blended, but not pureed.

Sprinkle baking powder and 4 Tbsps. of flour into mixture, then pulse. (Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure that everything is getting mixed together.) The mixture should be slightly sticky and not completely dough-like - if it is too wet, add up to another 2 Tbsps. of flour. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

SIDEBAR: How to know if your mixture will fall apart in the oil!

Chickpea flour is sometimes an ingredient in breading dough in South/Southeast Asian recipes, so your falafel mixture will have some dough-like qualities - it should hold some shape when rolled into a ball, and shouldn't stick to your hands like crazy-glue. However, you are working with rehydrated chickpeas (the flour is made from dry chickpeas), so it won't react exactly like bread dough when you play with it. A good test to see if you have enough flour: try rolling a tablespoon of mixture into a ball. If it can, more or less, consistently stay in a round shape, it's good to go. If it's like playing with diluted Play-Doh, add a little bit of flour to your hands. It's better than adding it to the entire mix in case you go too far the other way.

Pour 3 inches of oil into a pot or wok and heat on medium high to high (if you have a deep frying thermometer, it should be about 375 degrees). Using a tablespoon, form chickpea mixture into a ping pong ball-sized balls. Test one in the oil; if it falls apart, add more flour to the mixture.

SIDEBAR 2: How to keep falafel together while you're cooking it!

Even if it is the right consistency, the balls of mixture can still fall apart in the pan if you are too rough with them. It's kind of like cooking eggs over easy in that the center is softer than the outside, so turn them as if you're trying to build crispy walls around the inside goo.

Fry until crispy on all sides, gently turning every couple minutes. Remove falafel with a slotted spoon and place on a plate covered with paper towels. Serve hot on pita with lettuce and tomatoes.

Pita:

1 1/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup All-Purpose Flour

3/4 cup Vital Wheat Gluten

2 1/4 Teaspoons Yeast (or 1 Package Yeast)

1/2 Cup Warm Water

1 Cup Lukewarm Water

1 Tsp Raw Sugar

1 1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Mix the flour and gluten in a large bowl and add salt. Mix 1/2 cup warm water, yeast and sugar and let sit 10 minutes until foamy.
Pour the yeast water into the flour mixture. Stir the yeast into the flour until fully combined. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead well until the dough is uniformly elastic and smooth. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise 3 hours or until dough has doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and work into a "log." Cut the dough log into 10 equal pieces and let sit 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and place a pizza stone in the oven.

Work the dough balls flat one at time and place each on the pizza stone for 10 minutes, turning halfway through. Put the pita on a plate and serve warm.

For rolls, leave the balls intact and preheat the oven to 350. Cook for 35 minutes or until brown and crusty.

Brekke has a fantastic blog full of earth-friendly tips and tricks for a more sustainable lifestyle. Check it out here: http://adeepergreen.com/