Homemade Falafel with Lima Bean Salad
Falafel is delicious. Also, filling. You won’t miss the meat. With some pita or naan, a few chopped tomatoes and cucumbers, and some sort of spicy sauce, you have a meal. I made a lima bean salad but any green or chopped vegetable salad would complement the falafel nicely.
Ingredients
Cooking Instructions
step 1
Put Fava Beans (1 3/4 cups) in a large bowl and cover with water by 3 or 4 inches; they will triple in volume. Soak for 24 hours, adding water if needed to keep the beans submerged.
step 2
Drain beans well (reserve soaking water) and transfer to a food processor.
step 3
Add Garlic (2 cloves), Onion (1), Ground Coriander (1 tsp), Ground Cumin (1 Tbsp), Cayenne Pepper (1 tsp), Fresh Parsley (1 cup), Kosher Salt (1 tsp), Ground Black Pepper (1/2 tsp), Baking Soda (1/2 tsp), and the juice from Lemon (1) to the food processor.
step 4
Pulse until minced but not puréed, scraping sides of bowl down; add soaking water if necessary to allow machine to do its work, but no more than 1 or 2 tablespoons. Try to be patient and scrape down the sides of the machine several times before adding the liquid. You might not need it
step 5
Keep pulsing until mixture comes together. Taste, adding salt, pepper, cayenne or lemon juice to taste.
step 6
Put Grapeseed Oil (as needed) in a large, deep saucepan to a depth of at least 2 inches; more is better. The narrower the saucepan the less oil you need, but the more oil you use the more patties you can cook at a time.
step 7
Turn heat to medium-high and heat oil to about 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Test it by dropping a pinch of batter into the oil. It will sizzle immediately if it's hot enough.
step 8
Scoop heaping tablespoons of batter and shape into balls or small patties.
step 9
Fry in batches, without crowding, until nicely browned, turning as necessary; total cooking time will be less than 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.
step 10
To make the lima bean salad, begin by cooking the Dry Lima Beans (1 cup). I did not soak my beans. I followed the “quick-soak” method on the bag, which called for boiling the beans for two minutes, then letting them sit for an hour. Then I simmered the beans until they were tender, about 40 minutes, and then let them cool completely in their cooking liquid. Once I turned the burner off, I added a big pinch of kosher salt.
step 11
When the beans are cooled, make the salad: Drain the beans and place in a large bowl. Season with a large pinch of Kosher Salt (to taste).
step 12
Add Roasted Red Pepper Strips (1 cup), Red Onion (1/2 cup), Scallion (1 bunch) and Shelled Edamame (1 cup) to the bowl.
step 13
Drizzle with the Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (2 Tbsp) and White Balsamic Vinegar (1 Tbsp) and toss. Taste, adjusting seasoning as necessary with more salt, oil, vinegar, or pepper if desired.
step 14
Plate and serve!
