The real method: soaked (never canned) chickpeas blitzed with herbs, fried into green-hearted, craggy spheres. The soak is the recipe.
300 g
🫘 Chickpeas ›
DRIED, soaked 24 hours — canned cannot work
Mise en place
Before you start
Prep checklist
Chickpeas — DRIED, soaked 24 hours — canned cannot work
Soak dried chickpeas 24 hours. They stay raw — the fryer cooks them. Canned chickpeas dissolve into hummus fritters; this is the one unbreakable rule.
💡
Plan the soak the night before-before. Falafel is a 5-minute recipe with a 24-hour prologue.
Pulse everything (except oil) to coarse green couscous — it should just hold when squeezed. Rest 30 minutes; stir in baking powder last.
Form walnut-size balls and fry at 175°C, 3–4 minutes, to deep brown with green centers.
Stuff into pita with tahini thinned with lemon and water. Eat within the hour of frying — falafel waits for no one.
Taste before serving and adjust salt and acid — the last 30 seconds of seasoning matter more than any single ingredient.
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
Refrigerate components separately up to 3 days; dress and assemble just before eating.
Freezing
Salads and sandwiches don't freeze; soups freeze beautifully for 3 months.
Reheating
Soups reheat gently on the stove with a splash of water. Sandwiches and salads are best assembled fresh — store components separately.
Make ahead
Batch the components (proteins, dressings, grains) on Sunday; assemble in minutes all week.
Wine pairing
Something light and cold — a crisp white, a spritz, or iced tea.
Beer pairing
A crisp pilsner or wheat beer keeps lunch light.
On the plate
Serve it with
Sides
·
Kettle chips or a simple green salad
·
Quick-pickled vegetables
Garnish
Flaky salt and cracked pepper
A drizzle of good olive oil
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