Jonathan Sawyer’s Crispy Falafel Verde, as seen on Guy's Ranch Kitchen.
Recipe courtesy of Jonathon Sawyer

Crispy Falafel Verde

Getting reviews...
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Total: 45 min
  • Active: 45 min
  • Yield: 4 to 6 servings
I love all three of this dish’s components — falafel, tomato salad and labneh — both individually and together. They form a great base for a casual lunch or supper with Middle Eastern flair, and you can add pita or a pilaf, feta and olives for more heft if you like.

Ingredients

Falafel Quinoa Dough:

Israeli Tomato Salad:

Anchovy Labneh:

Directions

Special equipment:
a deep-fry thermometer
  1. For the falafel quinoa dough: Combine the chickpeas, fava beans and quinoa in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the herbs, garlic, scallions, coriander, cumin, sumac, black pepper and salt and pulse to combine. Add 1 tablespoon of the flour and pulse to combine. The mixture should be firm, moist and easy to form into balls. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
  2. Form the falafel dough into 1/2-inch balls and dust them in the remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Fry them in 350-degree-F oil for 5 minutes (see Cook’s Note). Sprinkle with salt while warm.
  3. For the Israeli tomato salad: Use a blow torch or broiler to char the tomatoes, then peel and halve them. Place in a bowl and toss with the parsley, fava beans, cucumber, scallion, olive oil and lemon zest and juice.
  4. For the anchovy labneh: Place the labneh, fish sauce, garlic, anchovy, brown sugar and lemon zest and juice in a bowl. Whisk to combine.
  5. To serve, put 4 to 6 falafels on each plate along with about 1 cup tomato salad, 2 tablespoons labneh and a couple Israeli pickles.

Cook’s Note

You can also use an air fryer to cook the falafel: Coat them in oil and air fry until crispy, about 10 minutes.