Falafel

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I made the mistake of using canned chickpeas for the falafel which made the dough very moist. The first one I trie frying was an absolute disaster. So, I added a little bit of flour to get a thicker consistency. Since me and my husband like falafels to be spicy, I added a couple of thai green chilies instead of the jalapenos.I really liked the flavors and guess I should make them a few more times to get it perfect.

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I made three of these dishes and combined it was a lot of work so I tried to do some prep work the day before. The Piquillo Pepper Yogurt Sauce was easy and tasty. I made it the day before which made it super yummy the day of my dinner. I also made the tomato relish which was equally yummy. I chopped the onion and mint and made the dressing the day before. I chopped the tomatoes and tossed everything the day of my dinner. The falafels were loads of work and I'm not completely sold on them though they were a hit at my dinner. I chopped the herbs the day before and soaked the beans for about 20 hours. Unfortunately I only have a mini food processor and this for sure needs a full size food processor. I followed some advise from other reviews and used a spider to drop my falafels into the oil and I had no problem with them falling apart. I just felt that they were pretty crunchy on the outside and a little dry on the inside. I didn't double fry them since I didnt have a thermometer to regulate the temperature. Maybe the double frying would have made the texture better. But everyone enjoyed them so I'll try again.

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To start with, the recipe callsfor the chickpeas to be soaked for AT LEAST 18 hours, not 16. It makes a difference and gives you little room to negatively review any recipe.

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Made these the other night, they where great. We loved all the dips. I didn't have any problems keeping them together, just make sure you really soak the chick peas.

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Loved the flavor, but they did fall apart on me in the oil. With my remaining falafel mixture, I mixed in 1 egg - then they did not fall apart.

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After soaking chickpeas for 16 hours, draining, drying, etc., etc. etc., I was completely disappointed with this recipe. The falafel balls disintegrated as soon as they nade contact with the properly-heated oil. Luckily, I saved a few that I was able to bake in the oven. The flavor was great; the sauces were great; however, I think Bobby Flay needs to re-evaluate the proportions of chick pea mixture to all other ingredients. I have since tried other FoodNetwork falafel recipes and have had great success--the reality is that canned chick peas worked better for me--go figure!

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They fell apart in the oil. Well, "fell apart" isn't the right phrase, it's more like they disintegrated. I spent 3 hours this afternoon making the recipe and barely have anything to show for it. I used a higher temp because reviews warned they may fall apart, but it did not help. They did not crisp at all and are very small- what's left of them is baking in the oven to get crisp. However, I tasted one and they're extremely bland, and all you can taste is the baking soda. The saving grace of this recipe is the side sauces, which are delicious.

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Thanks Bobby, you are the best, I loved this. I made it the other night and all was gone in no time.

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i think one "secret" to getting the right texture is something i noticed in the show (not mentioned by the guest chef and in a lebanese cookbook - if you grind the mixture twice instead of putting it in a food processor you will get a much lighter mixture. grind the chick peas once with onion and spices then again with the herbs. i also let the mixture sit for an hour. also use either a falafel scoop like she did or a small ice cream scoop - use a spatula to lightly press the mixture into mold and drop it directly into the oil. another observation is that the falafel did not appear to be fried at 350 as she said but higher (could be wrong on what i saw on the thermometer but a little research confirmed that some recipes have a higher temp - including Mark Bittman in the NY times who said fry at 375 or higher. i did not blanch them as in the published recipe. for the mix i also used more herbs plus combined chick peas and fava beans in my mix (instead ofjust chickpeas. mine came out great (no flour or cornstarch needed - hey bobby and taim are YOU ready for a throwdown!

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I had some problems w/ the falafel sticking together, but the flavor of the mix was quite good. I make falafels often, and will try this recipe again w/ some modifications.
The side dishes are uniformly excellent. Using white beans rather than garbanzo for the hummus was an interesting change, and the seasonings were nice. The tomato relish and the yogurt sauce are both winners. These will be permanent additions to my recipes.