Falafel

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A lot of work for a recipe where the falafel patties fell apart again. The first time I made them I forgot to chill them. This time I chilled them for 1.5 hours and they started to disintegrate plus the were mushy asthe previous reviewer said. This recipe needs a binding agent other than some olive oil to keep it together. Don't waste your time on this recipe!

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A DISASTER. Good taste but completely disintegrates when cooking. So sorry I didn't read reviews prior to going to all this work. Normally love Anne's recipe's but this one is a NO GO. It should be revised or REMOVED from the site.

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As someone else already noted, the raw falafel mixture tasted so yummy, I had high hopes for it.
I DID add some oil to the mixture, as Anne did on the show but not in the written recipe, as it wouldn't hold together to form patties without the oil added. I refrigerated the patties for 2-3 hours before flouring them, but when I added them to the hot oil, the edges just started disintegrating into the oil, creating a very sludgy oil. They did brown and I was able to lift them onto paper towels, but they were significantly smaller than when I put them in. Even now, cooled off, they look brown and seem like they should be crispy, but they're mushy! The taste is nice, and the tahini sauce is very good, but this was a LOT of work, dishes, and mess for a so-so result!

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I am a fan of Anne Burrell. Not this recipe though. Maybe, as others say, the problem is the recipe doesn't match the show. Regardless, the reason for this two star review is the falafel mixture is impossible to work with.

Which is not to say falafel is ever easy to make. There tend to be three basic approaches, 1 use canned chickpeas (ugh, 2 soak the dry chickpeas for 24 hours and then proceed from there with them uncooked or 3 soak and cook the chickpeas and proceed.

Version 3 is the one I favor and the one Chef Burrell uses here. I also like that she flattens the falafel balls before they are pan fried and they are not deep fried as spheres, as the other and more common way is to make them. And the seasonings are great.

But something is amiss here. The mixture isdifficult to hold together without the addition of extra liquid. If you do that for easier shaping, the minute they hit the oil in the pan, no matter how long they've been chilled, they'll fall apart.

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The secret to success is to follow Anne's technique on the show-NOT THE WRITTEN RECIPE! She added oil to the falafel mix prior to shaping the patties. She floured them AFTER refrigeration and pan fried them in a non-stick skillet. I followed the written recipe for frying in 1/2" of oil and had a horrible mess, with the patties disintegrating. FLAVORWISE this recipe gets an A+. Also, my tahini sauce was quite thick, but after rewatching the show, I realized that my tahini was more like peanut butter to start with, and Anne's was more liquid. Guess I'll add more water next time.

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Three and a half stars. First, there were too many dishes to do when this was all said and done. Second, the flavor of the patties was inconsistent. Third, there was no way the patties would have held together, on their own, before chilling and cooking. I fixed this problem by adding one lightly beaten egg to the chickpea mixture. I guess if you're a vegan you won't want to do this, but it worked for me. We liked the meal, but it was a lot of steps and a lot of clean up, and the payoff in taste was okay but didn't blow our minds, like so many of Anne's recipes do.

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This is a very tasty recipe. I added some water to help the falafels stick together and baked them as suggested by someone else. I used Ina Garten's fantastic Greek Salad for the garnish. The tahini sauce topped off a great sandwich. I will definitely make this again. I found that tahini that comes in a can doesn't separate like it seems to do in a glass jar.

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... With one condition. The frying of the falafel was extremely difficult -- I don't fry much, but still the patties came apart in the pan. I tried a couple, squished harder and got a few to come out ok -- and extremely tasty! Then, I decided to bake the rest @350 for 40 min, turning halfway through with a little olive oil. Came out easy, clean and very tasty -- and a bit healthier?!? I also toasted the pita on low. Will definitely be making again! And the sauce was amazing!

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Delicious. Made this with homemade pita bread and added lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Top with the tahini sauce...perfect. While making this, I did reserve some of the liquid the garbanzo beans cooked in to moisten the mixture before making in to patties to help it stick together. Thank you for the excellent recipe, Anne!

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A few things -- I just got done shaping the balls and putting them in the fridge. The mixture before it's cooked is delicious! However, I didn't see the show and floured the balls. I hope they're still good. Question: my mixture seemed really dry and without the flour the balls would not have stayed together. I may not have pulsed the beans enough. Other than that I have no clue. Any insights?