Air fryer falafel with tahini sauce
Herby, garlicky falafel made from canned chickpeas and crisped in the air fryer instead of a pot of oil, served with tahini sauce, a quick tomato cucumber salad and warm pita.
- 45 min total
- 35 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.29 a serving
- 610 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ red onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- ½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ¼ cup tahini
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 4 pita bread
From your pantry
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1¼ tsp salt, divided
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp water
Each serving has about 610 calories, 24 g protein, 86 g carbs and 20 g fat, and costs about $2.29 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No cucumbers? English cucumbers or mini cucumbers work.
- No pita bread? Flour tortillas work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the chickpeas very dry with paper towels, then mash them in a big bowl with a potato masher or fork until mostly broken down, with a few bigger pieces.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Dolly’s tip: Wet chickpeas make mushy falafel, so dry them well.Add the onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, cumin, coriander, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt and the flour, and mix with your hands until it holds together when you squeeze it.
Dolly’s tip: Too sticky to shape? Work in more flour a tablespoon at a time.Shape tablespoons into 24 small patties about ½ inch thick and brush them with the oil.
Heaping. Heaping means a rounded mound piled above the rim of the spoon or cup, not leveled off. It’s a little more than the measure, on purpose.
How you’ll know: The pile sits above the edge of the spoon, and you leave it there instead of scraping it flat.
Air fry at 375°F in a single layer 12 to 14 minutes, flipping halfway, until deep and . Work in batches.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Timer: 13 min
Meanwhile, the tahini with the juice of half the lemon, the water and of salt until smooth and pourable.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Dolly’s tip: It goes thick and pasty at first. Keep whisking and it turns creamy.the cucumber and tomatoes with the rest of the lemon juice and of salt.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Warm the pitas in a dry over medium heat, about 30 seconds a side.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heat
Serve the falafel with the salad, tahini sauce and warm pita.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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