Falafel

Many things are better at room temperature, or cold, or the next day, but falafel is not one of them. Falafel is only splendid if it is eaten as soon as it is fried. When it is all crunchy and hot, you crack it open and the soft fragrant insides are just right. It will hold for 20 minutes or so at room temperature, but really after that it should be discarded. It does not stand reheating well and once cooked should not be refrigerated.

We have placed it here in our mezze section, but of course you can make a meal of it—add a salad and some fresh flatbread and tahini for a winning meal that is enjoyed all over the world, and is my wife’s death row dinner.

Preparation is straightforward enough. Falafel always contains chickpeas and onions, and almost always cumin and baking powder, but other than that, anything goes. There are as many variations as there are falafel shops, each with their own recipe and their followers. You may sample and enjoy as many different variations as you like, but your favorite will always be the one across the road from the house you grew up in, the one you’d buy on the way home from school.

Falafel—important things to note before you start

• You must start all falafel recipes the night before, or at least 8 hours in advance, by soaking the chickpeas at room temperature in a large bowl with lots of water (it needs to be at least four times the volume of the chickpeas). Falafel will never work with tinned chickpeas—ever.

• The end weight should be double the dried weight, so a mounded ½ cup/125g dried chickpeas should end up as 1¼ cups/250g soaked.

• If, when you first cover the chickpeas with water, it goes murky, strain them and cover with fresh water, as they may be dirty.

• Once soaked, lift them out of the water and place in a bowl, rather than tipping the chickpeas and soaking water into a sieve or colander. This way you leave the impurities in the water, rather than tipping them back onto the chickpeas.

• We suggest you go through them and remove any chickpeas that have gone black, along with any little stones you find (it really depends on how well they were packed).

• You can use a rough meat grinder attachment or a food processor to mince everything together. We generally favor the meat grinder as it allows for a very evenly minced result, but ever since we lost our grinding blade we have been using the food processor with very good results.

• We use gram flour, a chickpea flour that is really easy to come by nowadays. It makes the recipe gluten-free, but regular flour will work well too.

• You can prepare the falafel mixture up to 2 days in advance, as it will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge.

• Always serve falafel with a tahini dip. It’s just the way it’s done—see notes on tahini here.

Jerusalem-style falafel (one for Itamar)

Visitors to the old walled town in Jerusalem entering from the Jaffa gate will be greeted by a blue-painted handcart selling sesame-crusted bread with za’atar to dip, and big torpedo-shaped falafel, a snack for weary tourists. Do not be tempted—these have all been prepared before sunrise and, after hours in the Jerusalem sun, have lost the flavor of their youth. Much better to enter the old town and get lost in the cobbled streets and alleys. You are sure to stumble upon the source, where the bread is fresh out of the oven and the falafel fresh out of the oil. Rich with sesame seeds and fragrant with cinnamon, to me they are the ultimate flavor-fingerprint of this part of the world.

Makes about 14–18 balls (depending on the size you make them)

1 medium onion, peeled

1¼ cups/250g soaked chickpeas (from a mounded ½ cup/125g dried—see method here)

1 heaped tsp ground coriander

1 heaped tbsp ground cumin

1 heaped tbsp ground cinnamon

a pinch of white pepper (leave it out rather than using black)

¾ tsp salt

2½ tbsp gram flour (use pastry flour if need be)

1¼ tsp baking powder

2½ tbsp sesame seeds

Haifa-style falafel (one for Sarit)

This is inspired by the flavor of the long-time winner of my personal Haifa falafel competition, which comes from a tiny shop in an alley in Haifa’s Wadi Nisnas. The shop’s name translates to “the elders” and they certainly know what they are doing. It is best served with a sharp lemony-type of tahini to cut through the potent cumin and chickpea flavor. This is a recipe for purists, as it offers clear, direct, bold flavors.

1 medium onion, peeled

1 clove of garlic, peeled

1¼ cups/250g soaked chickpeas (from a mounded ½ cup/125g dried—see method here)

1 heaped tbsp ground cumin

1 heaped tbsp ground coriander

a pinch of white pepper (leave it out rather than using black)

¾ tsp salt

2½ tbsp gram flour (use pastry flour, if need be)

1¼ tsp baking powder

Yemeni-style falafel (one for the family roots)

Itamar is a quarter Yemeni on his grandfather’s side. This falafel is a tribute to that heritage, and it is great—the traditional Yemeni combo of coriander, cardamom and garlic makes it super-vibrant in color and flavor.

½ medium onion, peeled

1 clove of garlic, peeled

1¼ cups/250g soaked chickpeas (from mounded ½ cup/125g dried—see note here)

1 green chili, seeds and all

3 sprigs of parsley, picked

1 small bunch of cilantro (about ½–¾ cup), leaves and top part of stems only

½ tsp ground cumin

1 heaped tsp freshly ground cardamom pods

½ tsp salt

2½ tbsp gram flour (use pastry flour if need be)

1¼ tsp baking powder

Method if you are using a meat grinder

Use the coarse grinder blade if you have one—we find it gives the best texture. Cut the onion and garlic into dice so that you can easily feed them through the grinder. Mince the chickpeas, onions, garlic,* chili* and herbs* into a bowl. Add the spices, salt, flour, baking powder and sesame seeds* and mix well to a very thick mass.

* if required by your chosen recipe

Method if you are using a food processor

Start with the onion, garlic,* chili* and herbs* and pulse them to chop roughly, then add the chickpeas and blitz until everything becomes a thick paste with small, even-sized bits. You may need to scrape the sides down and blitz for another pulse or two to make sure that everything is evenly chopped, but do not overwork. The best way to check whether it is done enough is to scoop up a small amount and squeeze it together in your palm—it should hold its shape. If it falls apart, return it to the processor for another spin. Tip the mixture into a large bowl, add the spices, salt, flour, baking powder and sesame seeds* and mix until all is combined well.

* if required by your chosen recipe

Frying and serving

It is important to fry the falafel in deep oil that will cover them entirely. If you own a fryer, use that. I prefer to fry five at a time in a small pan, rather than waste oil cooking them in a large pan that could hold the entire quantity, but really it is up to you.

Use a neutral vegetable oil that doesn’t have much flavor, like sunflower or rapeseed. Heat the pan before adding the falafel. If you want to be scientific about it, or have a fryer with a temperature setting, you are looking for 340°F, or you can test the oil temperature by placing a small piece of bread or falafel mix in the hot oil—as soon as it starts to bubble up and float, you are ready to go.

You can shape the falafel mix in a few different ways: use damp hands and make little balls or torpedo shapes; or you can simply drop in spoonfuls of mixture for free-form falafel. There are special falafel scoops you can buy online if you intend to go pro, but whichever way you choose, you want to be making them about the size of a walnut, no bigger, so that they cook through and crisp up at the same time.

Carefully place the falafel in the oil—don’t overcrowd the pan—and fry until the exterior is browned and crisped (about 2–3 minutes). Remove to a plate covered with a paper towel to absorb the excess oil and repeat the process until all them have been fried. Serve right now.

Vegetable fritters

The following recipes make about 25 small fritters, which is enough for 6–8 people as a generous mezze, or for 4 as a vegetarian main course (as we often serve them in the restaurant) with some green salad and a dipping sauce. It seems silly to halve these recipes, as any leftover fritters can be stored in the fridge overnight and will be great the next day in a lunchbox or a sandwich. You can prepare the fritters in advance and warm them up in a medium-hot oven for 5 minutes before serving, but they are also great at room temperature. If you can’t be bothered with the dipping sauce, thick natural yogurt is a delicious alternative.

Carrot & butternut fritters

Serves 6–8 to share as a mezze

1 large carrot, peeled

1 small potato, peeled

¼ butternut squash, peeled and deseeded (about ⅓ pound/150g)

½ medium onion, peeled

1¼ tsp salt

2 eggs

6 sprigs of tarragon, picked and roughly chopped

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp ground cardamom pods (here)

3½ tbsp whole wheat flour

½ tsp baking powder

vegetable oil for frying

For the chive sour cream

1 small tub of sour cream (about 6 oz/170ml)

½ bunch of chives, chopped finely

juice of half a lemon

mounded 1 tbsp mayonnaise

some freshly ground black pepper

Grate all the vegetables on a coarse grater (or use a food processor) and place in a sieve over a bowl. Sprinkle with half of the salt and mix lightly. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes at room temperature to draw out the excess water. Place the eggs, tarragon, the remaining salt, pepper, ground cardamom, flour and baking powder in a bowl. Squeeze out whatever liquid you can from the vegetables, add them to the bowl and mix vigorously to combine.

Heat about ¾ in/2cm of oil in a frying pan, and line a plate with some absorbent paper towel. Scoop little spoonfuls of the batter into the oil and fry for about a minute until they start to crisp up. Flip the fritters carefully and fry on the other side for another minute or so till crisp. Remove to the lined plate to absorb the excess oil. Repeat until you have used up all the batter.

Mix all the chive sour cream ingredients together (I wouldn’t add any salt, as chives have a natural saltiness to them) and serve with the fritters.