{"id":11869,"date":"2023-10-06T07:48:09","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T07:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/?p=11869"},"modified":"2023-10-06T08:02:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T08:02:07","slug":"falafel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/?p=11869","title":{"rendered":"Falafel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This recipe is pretty close to as authentic as one can get.  I used dried chickpeas, fresh herbs, spices, and made with good energy!!  I actually made my very first authentic falafel with a street vendor in Palestine a few years ago.  He could put out 20 in like seconds and it took me 15 seconds or so to make just one!!  hahaha   A local bought my first ones and gave me a nod and a grin as she ate my little Middle Eastern delicacies!!  My teacher was 30 years younger than me and a &#8216;pro&#8217;!  Oh, he was very very very patient as well!!  A very memorable experience.  <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized has-custom-border\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"863\" data-attachment-id=\"11873\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/?attachment_id=11873\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drewfrederic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/a0f34ea9-8249-4984-a840-d0a5082981f8-1.jpg?fit=847%2C975&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"847,975\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1696558806&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"a0f34ea9-8249-4984-a840-d0a5082981f8-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drewfrederic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/a0f34ea9-8249-4984-a840-d0a5082981f8-1.jpg?fit=750%2C863&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drewfrederic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/a0f34ea9-8249-4984-a840-d0a5082981f8-1.jpg?resize=750%2C863&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11873\" style=\"border-width:2px;border-radius:28px;width:255px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drewfrederic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/a0f34ea9-8249-4984-a840-d0a5082981f8-1.jpg?w=847&amp;ssl=1 847w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drewfrederic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/a0f34ea9-8249-4984-a840-d0a5082981f8-1.jpg?resize=261%2C300&amp;ssl=1 261w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drewfrederic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/a0f34ea9-8249-4984-a840-d0a5082981f8-1.jpg?resize=130%2C150&amp;ssl=1 130w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drewfrederic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/a0f34ea9-8249-4984-a840-d0a5082981f8-1.jpg?resize=768%2C884&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Ingredients<\/span><\/strong>:<br>2 cups dried chickpeas (DO NOT use canned or cooked chickpeas)<br>1\/2 teaspoon baking soda<br>1 cup fresh parsley leaves, stems removed<br>3\/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, stems removed<br>1\/2 cup fresh dill, stems removed<br>1 small onion, quartered<br>5 garlic cloves, peeled<br>Salt to taste<br>1 tablespoon black pepper<br>1 tablespoon ground cumin<br>1 tablespoon ground coriander<br>1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)<br>1 teaspoon baking poweder<br>2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds<br>Oil for frying<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Directions<\/span><\/strong>:<br>1.  You need 1 day in advance.  Place the chickpeas and baking soda in a large bowl filled with cold water to cover the chickpeas (by about 2 inches).  Soak overnight for around 24 hours.  Chickpeas do not want to be hard.  Drain the chickpeas completely and pat them dry.<br>2.  Add the chickpeas, herbs, onion, garlic, and spices to a food processor or blender.  Pulse in small increments of time until all is well combined forming the falafel mixture.<br>3.  Place the falafel mixture into a container and cover tightly.  Place in the fridge for around 1 hour or up to one night until ready to cook.<br>4.  Just before frying, add the baking powder and sesame seeds to the falafel mixture.  Stir with a spoon.<br>5.  Scoop tablespoonfuls of the falafel mixture an form into patties (1\/2 inch in thickness each).  It helps to have wet hands when forming the patties\/balls.  You can also use an ice cream scoop to form the balls.  You will have to make sure they are firm.<br>6.  Fill a medium saucepan with 3 inches of oil.  Heat oil on medium-high heat until it bubbles softly.  Carefully place the falafel patties into the hot oil and fry for about 3 to 5 minutes or until crispy and brown on the outside.  Do not overcrowd the patties.<br>7.  Place the cooked falafel on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.<br>8.  Serve hot with a tahini sauce or hummus.  Use a pita to make a sandwich with falafel, arugula, tomato, cucumbers, and tahini sauce (or tzatziki).   Click here for a <a href=\"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/?p=11856\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"11856\">Pita Bread<\/a> recipe.  Fresh pita and falafel is just absolutely heaven!!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>*<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">NOTE<\/span><\/strong>:  You can bake the falafel in a 350 F degree oven for around 15-20 minutes.  I supposed an Air Fryer will work.  Look online for a time frame.  I would give the falafel patties a coating of olive oil before baking or air frying.  Also, turn them midway through.  Make sure your oil is at 375 degrees F for frying.  Do a test one first.  And remember, you can only use dried chickpeas!!!!  DO NOT use canned or cooked chickpeas.  I cannot stress this enough!!  I usually soak my chickpeas for a good 24 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I always fry up a huge batch and snack on them with hummus or in a pita pocket!!  YUM YUM YUM!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cheers, Drew Frederic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This recipe is pretty close to as authentic as one can get. I used dried chickpeas, fresh herbs, spices, and made with good energy!! I actually made my very first authentic falafel with a street vendor in Palestine a few years ago. He could put out 20 in like seconds and it took me 15<a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/?p=11869\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">&#8220;Falafel&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65103359,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"An authentic recipe for making Falafel","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Authentic Falafel","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2832],"tags":[669514486,669514485,59990,669514189,669514483,669514487,492309,8845,669514186],"class_list":["post-11869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recipes","tag-authentic-falafel","tag-chickpeas","tag-comfort-food","tag-drew-frederic-recipes","tag-falafel","tag-middle-eastern-cuisine","tag-middle-eastern-food","tag-recipe","tag-recipes","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s6puAb-falafel","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/65103359"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11869"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11882,"href":"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11869\/revisions\/11882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drewfrederic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}