falafel

If you live in DC, or ever plan on visiting, you absolutely (without a doubt {no, seriously}) must go here for falafel. These guys serve up a tiny menu, consisting only of falafel (small or large, white or wheat pita), dutch fries (small or large) and brownies (special without being special). With only a few things to focus on, they've had a great opportunity to really perfect their food. They give you just the falafel in the pita, and have a toppings bar at your disposal to load the pita as you please. I highly recommend you fit as much as possible in that pita. The trick is to crush the patties to give you more space (if you don't, they'll know you're a rookie and make fun of you. I promise).

Since I can't make it to Adams Morgan on a nightly basis, I have to have a backup plan. Little fried patties of chickpeas may not sound like such a big deal, but they're more complicated than you would think. Case in point: back in college, my roommate and I decided that we wanted to make falafel for dinner. With no recipe, we set out blindly. That was our first mistake. We knew we needed the chickpeas ground so we could form patties, so we threw them, along with some spices, into the blender (second mistake) and turned it on (third mistake).

Have you ever tried to fry hummus?

We spooned our "batter" into a pan of hot oil, and walked away for a minute. When we walked back to the kitchen, our falafel was nowhere to be found! We searched through the oil with a spoon, but alas, our hummus balls had dissolved (go figure).

The next time we tried falafel, we used a box mix.

I'm happy to report that tonight's venture was far more successful. Wrapped up in a massive lettuce leaf with tzatziki, tahini, tabouleh and tomatoes (apparently I like alliteration in my food), this was the perfect meal to accompany an evening of reading outside on the first (and potentially last) perfect Spring night.

Falafel


1 large can chickpeas, rinsed and dried as much as possible (or use dry chickpeas that have been soaked overnight)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2-3 tablespoons fresh cilantro or parsley
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion, diced
1-2 teaspoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
oil for frying

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until everything is combined and roughly chopped (you don't want a complete puree - that's called hummus). Freeze for 20 minutes. Heat oil in a pot or high-walled pan. Form mix into patties (mine were about 1 1/2 inches in diameter) and carefully drop in to the oil. Fry 2-3 minutes on each side, until each side is browned. Drain oil off on a piece of paper towel, and serve on salad, in a pita, or plain. Whatever you want! My favorites are lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion, tahini, tzatziki, and shredded cabbage. Sometimes a little hot chilli sauce. Glorious.

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