We are spending a couple of weeks away at my Mother’s summer house. I love the countryside, and being surrounded by nature. But with this heatwave, I really don’t feel like spending much time in the kitchen. We tend to eat more fruit and vegetables when it’s really warm outside, so as you can imagine I’ve been making lots of light salads, vegan dishes and slushies. One of my favourite recipes to make in the summer is this healthy falafel burger. If you love falafel sandwiches as much as I do, then you’re gonna love this! Falafel sandwiches are usually served in freshly baked pita bread, with hummus and tahini salad. I decided to recreate this sandwich but in a falafel version. This is also the best falafel recipe that you will find on the internet. Whether you decide to make a falafel burger or falafel patties I can guarantee you that this recipe will become a favourite of yours!
The Ingredients
The ingredients are very simple. You just need to make sure that you soak the dried chickpeas overnight, or at least 3-4 hours beforehand. Or, you could use canned chickpeas of course for convenience and save time. To make these falafel patties, you will need:
Chickpeas Fresh parsley Onion, garlic, and lemon juice. Self-raising flour Cumin, salt, pepper, and oil for frying.
How to Make Falafel Patties
In a food processor, pulse all of the ingredients together (except for the oil!) until you get a well-combined mixture (this should take 4-5 minutes). The mixture will be green in colour as this recipe uses a lot of parsley. The falafel mixture will be a little bit sticky, I just use a spoon to scoop out the mixture (directly into the frying pan) and shape the patties. If the mixture is way too wet, just add a little bit of more flour (but not too much as you don’t want a doughy texture). Heat 1-2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan, then drop the falafel patties into the pan using a spoon to form discs. These falafel patties are shallow fried as it’s a healthier way of cooking. However, the original Middle Eastern recipe calls for deep frying the falafel balls to make sure that the outside is super crispy and crunchy. I found that shallow frying these falafel burger patties works perfectly fine, I just had to drop a little bit of hot oil to the sides of the patties while they’re being fried with a spoon to make sure that the texture of the falafels is even from all sides (as the patties are quite thick). You can skip this step, and just fry the falafels from the bottom until they’re browned then gently flip them to brown the other side. The falafel patties will stay green from the inside, and that’s perfectly fine as this is how they should be.
How to Build the Falafel Burger
So I’ve provided you with a delicious and easy falafel recipe, and after you make it you will have to assemble the burger. Of course, you could add smashed avocado, tomato slices and whatever your heart desires. But as this is a classic falafel sandwich turned into a burger I’ve used the traditional toppings. I normally use burger bread buns, then spread a layer of homemade classic hummus (you could also use avocado hummus, it’s seriously good!), followed by the falafel burger patty, and finally about 2 tbsp of tomato cucumber tahini salad. Some people refer to this tahini salad as “falafel sauce”.
What to Serve With
I always thought that burgers + chips is the best combination! So I’ve served these burgers with some homemade oven baked fries, and more of the tomato cucumber tahini salad on the side. We also made some homemade lemonade, and the kids loved that!
Freeze and Reheat Falafel
Falafel burgers and falafel balls freeze very well. So you could make a batch of these falafels, fry them, let them completely cool then pop them in the freezer to consume later. Just make sure that they’re stored in a freezer-suitable container that is sealed. Fried falafel can stay in the freezer for up to 1 month. Reheat in the oven at 180c until they’re warmed through and enjoy! © Little Sunny Kitchen
