Egyptian fava bean falafel
Middle Eats · ♥ 18.8K likes · 410.5K views · 14 min video
Read about fava beans in the BrightCulinary Book
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 400 g split fava beans
Wash the split fava beans until the water runs clear, cover with plenty of water and soak at least 8 hours or overnight, then drain.
- 100 g leek
- 100 g spring onions
- 50 g parsley
- 50 g coriander
Roughly chop the leek, spring onions, parsley and coriander.
- 4 cloves garlic
Put the leek, spring onion, coriander, parsley and garlic in the food processor, add the beans on top, and run until everything is completely minced, scraping the bowl down a few times.
- 2½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp dried coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
Add the salt, dried coriander, ground cumin and cayenne and process until evenly mixed; the batter should be a uniform green with the texture of mashed avocado.
- 1 whole onion
- 1½ tbsp harissa
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For the stuffing, dice the onion and saute it in the olive oil over medium heat until it softens.
- ¼ tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp coriander
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1½ tbsp red pepper or tomato paste
Add the harissa, the quarter teaspoons of cumin, coriander, salt and black pepper, and the red pepper or tomato paste, then a small amount of water, and stir into a sauce.
- water
Cook and reduce at least 15 minutes until thickened, adding more water until the onions are cooked through.
- ¼ cup coriander seeds
- ¼ cup sesame seeds
Crush the coriander seeds in a mortar just enough to break them open and smell their aroma, then mix with the sesame seeds.
Crushed coriander and sesame coating
- ¼ tsp baking soda
Whip the batter in a stand mixer for 5 minutes until extremely fluffy and airy, like a soft melty gelato; whip a quarter of the batter at a time and fry it immediately, as the batter deflates quickly.
Wet your hands, wet a square of parchment paper, scoop about two to three tablespoons of batter onto it and press it flat.
Wet your fingertips, dip them in the seed mixture and press it into the top, then lay a second wet square on top, flip, peel off the first, and press the seed topping into the other side. The puck should be about 1 to 1.5 cm thick.
- vegetable oil
Variation, stuffed: make a smaller patty, put about a teaspoon of the filling in the centre, flatten it, add more batter on top, press the two sides together and add the seed topping.
Stuffed ta'meya
Heat vegetable oil about an inch deep over medium heat to 160 Celsius, 320 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lower each falafel in on its parchment, peel the paper off from a corner, and baste the top with oil from a spoon a few times so the batter does not come apart on the flip.
Fry 2 to 3 minutes on the first side until lightly browned underneath, flip against the side of the pan and fry 2 to 3 minutes more, then give it 2 more minutes on each side until deep brown. Drain on a paper towel lined tray.
- pita bread
- tahini sauce
- chopped tomato and cucumber salad
- pickles
Split pita bread, squirt in tahini sauce, add chopped tomato and cucumber salad, a couple of pieces of falafel and pickles, and drizzle over more tahini sauce.
The ta'meya sandwich