Falafel sandwich recipe
South along the coast from Beirut is the ancient Phoenician port of Saida, or Sidon. The city is known for its street food and sun-soaked medina where you can sample incredible cuisine among the heaving hummus stalls and sizzling shawarma bars.
A restaurant called Falafel Akkawi Saida serves the best falafel sandwich in the medina. The combination of crispy fried falafel, creamy condiments, crunchy salad and tangy pickles is out of this world.
Ingredients
To serve- 2 tsp sumac
- 2 baby gem lettuce, finely sliced
- 2 handfuls parsley leaves
- 200 g pickles, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp tahini, to drizzle
- 1 jar of chilli sauce, to taste
- 8 round pitta breads, split
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 handful coriander leaves and stalks
- 1 handful parsley leaves
- 400 g chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water and drained
- 4 tbsp gram flour
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes
- 0.5 tsp baking powder
- 0.2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 750 ml vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
Details
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
- Recipe Type: Falafel pitta
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 15 mins
- Cooking Time: 20 mins
- Serves: 6
Step-by-step
- Blitz the onion and garlic in a food-processer until fine. Add the herbs and continue to blend until they are completely whizzed up. Add the chickpeas, gram flour, cumin, coriander, Aleppo pepper flakes, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- Season with a really good pinch of salt and blitz again for a few minutes to combine.
- Scrape the sides down with a spatula and blend until the mixture combines into a paste. Roll into 30–32 small falafel the size of walnuts.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a deep saucepan over a medium–high heat. You will need about 7–10cm (3 inches) oil, enough to completely cover your falafel.
- Cook the falafel, a few at a time, for 1–2 minutes until golden. You have to watch the heat, adjusting it so that they don’t cook too fast and burn. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
- Serve in the pitta with lettuce, parsley, pickles, a sprinkle of sumac, a drizzle of tahini and chilli sauce to taste.
This recipe is from Saffron in the Souks by John Gregory-Smith. Published by Kyle Books, £25. Photography by Nassima Rothacker and Alan Keohane.
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