Fava Bean Falafel
Author Notes: A classic greek falafel made with fava beans instead of chickpeas turns out to be a successful alternative. —Vicky | Things I Made Today
Serves 4
- 2 – 2½ pounds Fresh fava beans in their pods, or about 1 cup frozen fava beans
- 1 cup Canned cooked chickpeas
- 2 tablespoons Fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons Fresh cilantro
- 2 Garlic cloves, chopped
- ¼ Large yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground cumin
- Canola oil for frying
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 8 Mint leaves, chopped
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 Pita pockets
- 1 Cucumber, sliced thin
- Arugula or spinach
- Thinly sliced onion
- If starting with fresh fava beans, remove beans from pod. Fill a medium sized bowl with ice water and set aside. Next, bring a medium sized pot of water to boil. Drop beans in and cook for 30 seconds. Drain water and transfer beans immediately to ice water to cool. After about 5 minutes, remove beans from ice water and peel the outer waxy layer, so the bright green fava bean is revealed. Measure out 1 cup of beans.
- If starting with frozen fava beans, simply defrost.
- Add 1 cup of fava beans, chickpeas, parsley, cilantro, garlic, onion, salt, and cumin to a food processor and pulse until smooth.
- Using your hands, roll mixture into balls, about two tablespoons each, until it is used up (makes about 12 falafels).
- Fill a heavy bottomed pot with about 3 inches of canola oil. Heat the oil until its 375F (candy thermometer comes in handy here). Drop falafel, 2-3 at a time, into the oil and fry until it turns a nice brown color on the outside, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the falafel to a paper towel lined plate. Repeat until all falafel are cooked.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together yogurt, mint, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Stuff pita pockets with falafel, cucumbers, onions, greens, and any other accoutrements you desire. Top with mint yogurt sauce.
- If you are not planning on eating them right away, let falafel cool and then store in an air tight container for up to a day in the fridge. Let them come to room temperature before serving.
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Middle Eastern Recipe
More Great Recipes:
Beans & Legumes|Appetizers|Entrees|Sandwiches|Side Dishes
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6 months ago Jodie Grotins
My falafels turned to mush. Could not roll them into a ball and generally were not right consistency. I followed the recipe but not sure what went wrong...
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