All the best parts of the falafel, now a crisp hamburger

I have rarely encountered food that I didn’t want to “burgerfy”. If there is even the slightest possibility of taking something delicious and reshaping it in a juicy and portable cake nestled in a tender and stacked bun with garnishes, I am in it. Hamburgers are not only against meat; This is this perfect relationship of crisp edges, tender centers and all the fixings that you can stack on top. Falafel, with its adjacent shape and shape already in pancakes to be sandwich in pita with sauce and vegetables, is the perfect candidate for reinventing as a hamburger. Half of the work is already over – you just need to reshape it like a pancake, nail the cooking time and take the jump from Pita Pocket to Burger Bun.

What makes falafel so large in this format is the same thing that makes it so irresistible in its classic state: contrast. A net and ultra-thin exterior gives way to a soft and packed herbs interior. This little bit of aromatic magic – onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, parsley, coriander and cayenne – means that each bite is scented and tasty. This recipe was developed by my colleague Craig Ruff at our Birmingham, Alabama kitchen. In this document, he slips one of these pancakes on a toasted bun, the drizzle with a creamy Tahini yogurt sauce, and stacked fresh tomatoes, cucumber and a handful of marinated onions, to create a Falafel burger which is crisp, terreux, acidile, brilliant and refreshing.

Craig tested some approaches to get these pancakes right. The traditional method – to start with dried chickpeas soaked during the night, then crushed raw with herbs and spices – was the light winner. He stood beautifully without additional links, beautifully golden fried and delivered this elusive balance in a falafel of a crispy shell and a soft and tender center. Craig noted that the shortcut versions with canned chickpeas had not been so well, turning too pasty, too gum or too brittle, depending on how he tried to modify them. None of these versions corresponded to the flavor and texture of the falafel made with dry and soaked chickpeas.

There is a reason why this method works best. The dried chickpeas that have been soaked but unsuccessful always keep intact starchs that naturally link the mixture. Allowing the ground mixture to rest before frying gives the starch time to do their job, while Craig discovered that a pinch of baking soda ensures that the pancakes brown uniformly and blow slightly, keeping them light.

Of course, with Falafel (and Burgers), half of the pleasure is in the fillings. The Tahini-Yogurt sauce here is deeply hazelnut and tangy. The juicy tomato slices add softness and acidity, the cucumber brings a crunchy grassy and the marinated onions contribute a vine and vine bite. When it is bunk together, each bite is exciting, just like a well stacked hamburger.

These falafel burgers are plentiful enough to even satisfy the most committed carnivore, but they also shine as the main plants that does not taste a compromise.

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