Falafel and farro, everything marinated
The falafel mix needs ten minutes alone before you touch it. Rush that and it crumbles.
At a Glance
Story
Boxed falafel mix is ground dried chickpea, and it needs to drink its water before it will hold a shape. Stir it with the water, then leave it strictly alone for ten minutes. Stirring during the rest breaks up the structure it is building, and the balls slump the moment they hit hot oil.
Ingredients
- 4 oz boxed falafel mix
- ½ cup semi-pearled farro
- 2 oz arugula
- 4 oz grape tomatoeshalved
- 1 Persian cucumberhalved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 1 bunch parsleyleaves and stems roughly chopped
- 1 oz Niçoise olivespitted and roughly chopped (optional)
- 3 tbsp garlic-tahini sauce
- 1 ½ oz fetacrumbled
- 1 lemonquartered
- neutral oil for fryingolive oil, salt, pepper
Method
Three things marinate while the farro boils, so the last five minutes are just frying and assembling.
- Salted water on to boil. Farro in, uncovered, 18 to 20 minutes, until tender. Drain well.
- Meanwhile, stir the falafel mix with ½ cup water and leave it, untouched, at least 10 minutes.
- Combine the tomatoes, parsley, cucumber and olives with olive oil, salt and pepper. Leave to marinate. In a second bowl, loosen the garlic-tahini with the juice of two lemon wedges and season.
- Roll the rested mix into 6 balls. Thin layer of neutral oil in a large nonstick pan over medium. When a pinch of the mix sizzles on contact, in they go. 3 to 4 minutes a side, until deep gold. Onto paper towel, salted straight away.
- Toss the farro with the arugula, the juice of the last lemon wedges and a slug of olive oil. Season.
- Bowls of farro, then the falafel, the marinated vegetables with their liquid, the feta, and the tahini sauce poured over.
Medium heat, not high. Falafel that browns too fast is raw in the middle, and these are big enough for that to matter.
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