We all have those foods that could make us salivate at the mere mention of them. Falafel fall in that category for me. Drop the word falafel, and you’re gonna hear me squeal. Yes, squeal. Because falafel are so, incredibly tasty. And I’m not the only one susceptible to their magnetism — not only do I have so much passion for this food, but the food and its history has the tendency to provoke a lot of controversy and intense emotion.
I get it: you may not be as hot for falafel as I am. Taste is very individual. Judging someone for their food tastes is like judging them for the type of music they like or the people they love. We crave what we crave, sometimes inexplicably so. Just because it ain’t your thing doesn’t mean it’s not someone else’s, but we still have plenty of crave-worthy food for you to take a crack at making. Check out any one of our other recipes if falafel isn’t what you have a hankering for.
Falafel are deep-fried balls made from chickpeas, fava beans, or a combination of both. The ones we’re making in this post require chickpeas (a.k.a garbanzos), and our process is an adaptation of Mark Bittman’s Falafel recipe featured in the New York Times.