The Key To Perfect Oven-Baked Falafels Is A Little Patience

There is nothing quite like a perfect fried or oven-baked falafel. The little balls or patties of nutty goodness consist mostly of ground chickpeas and spices, but they pack so much flavor, particularly when nestled in a pita with a little tahini or tzatziki sauce. What you may not realize is that they're easy to make at home, and you can even enhance falafels with ground pistachios and other ingredients.

However, there's one element that makes mixing up a batch of perfectly baked, crispy falafels different from dishes dependent on fried or baked flour dough: time. Where a flour coating for baked chicken or a cornmeal batter for hush puppies is ready to cook the minute it's made, a falafel mixture benefits from resting overnight before baking. Like cookie dough, leaving it in the fridge for up to a day is recommended by the experts. And the nice thing about baking that rested mix instead of frying it? It's a completely acceptable method and requires very little oil. Spray the balls or patties and set them on a baking sheet, turning from time to time. Properly rested overnight, the baked treats will form easily and bake nice and crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.

Though many recipes and home cooks use drained canned chickpeas (which work just fine), traditional falafel is created using dried beans (either chickpeas or fava beans). The beans are soaked overnight (more patience), ground, and blended (uncooked) with garlic, onion, and spices. They are then rolled into balls or flattened into thick patties to be fried or baked. Most recipes also call for baking soda, and this is part of the reason you're going to want to wait to cook the mixture.

While it is possible to cook the mix right away, resting allows the ingredients to coalesce, soften, and bind (the only moisture is from the soaked or canned chickpeas and onion). Starches are released overnight that help the balls and patties retain their shape. It also helps prevent the dough from being too dry or crumbly to work with. Giving time for the baking soda to do its magic also makes for fluffier falafels. If you can't wait overnight, aim for placing them in a sealed container for at least one hour in the refrigerator.

It should be noted this trick is recommended for falafels made from scratch. Boxed mixes specifically instruct against storing the dough. Because water is added to box mix, the dough will be dense and gummy if left to chill overnight. The falafels don't smell or taste the same, and instead of holding together (like rested scratch-made falafels), they crumble.