No-Gadget Falafel (Falafel without a Food Processor) Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

How to make falafel if you don't have a food processor? ›

If you don't have a food processor, you can also use an immersion blender. Then it's easier to blend bit by bit. If the mix seems very dry, you can add a splash of water. Take a tablespoon of the falafel mix at a time and roll between your hands to form falafel balls that are about the size of walnuts.

A food processor can grind much more falafel at a time and is easier to use. The food processor mixes the falafel as it is running which will keep you from having to stop and stir falafel in between pulses.

Make a mixture of a little bit of olive oil and the crumbles. Before putting the falafel in the frying pan, dip them in this mixture. Because the crumbles form a bit of a crust, it's easier to flip them over without them falling apart.

KITCHEN TOOLS

Tools like rolling pins, a masher or a mortar and pestle can be used to mash or puree soft ingredients like ripe fruit, or help you crush ice in a pinch. Keep in mind that blending or crushing ingredients by hand may be more time consuming and achieve less consistent results than appliance alternatives.

In short – yes! An immersion blender is a handheld blender with a small spinning blade that is immersed into ingredients to create smoothies, soups and sauces. A food processor has larger, flat blades at the bottom of the work bowl, or discs that sit at the top and can chop, shred, grind, puree and more.

A hand mixer can be used instead of an immersion blender when mixing or combining liquid and dry ingredients, such as when making a cake or cookie batter, creaming butter and sugar together, or whipping up a dessert frosting.

A hand mixer and a blender can be used interchangeably in some cases. You can, for example, make pancake dough or mix a co*cktail with both of them. However, you need a blender for chopping vegetables, fruit, or other solid foods and a mixer if you want to whip your batter quickly.

Although food processors and blenders share some functions, they are not interchangeable. Primarily, a blender is used to puree or crush ice. Use a blender if your final product is something you can drink, such as a mocktail or protein shake, drizzle or dip.

Blenders are taller and narrower, with one small blade at the bottom. Food processors are wider and more squat. Processors come with larger, sharper S-shaped blades, and many models also have separate blades for slicing and shredding. Blender blades tend to be smaller and less sharp.

Can I use nutribullet instead of food processor? ›

A nutribullet is more of blender than a food processor. So, if you want something done up really finely, then yeah you can use it. If you want a coarser chop, it will be less than ideal.

I recommend olive oil, canola oil or avocado oil. Ground flaxseed. This is the binding agent in this vegan falafel recipe. You can substitute 1 egg for the 2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed.

And the perfect binding ingredient for falafel is flour. Nothing fancy, just plain all-purpose flour. Add a few tablespoons at a time to your mixture, until you can press it easily into balls or patties. Just be sure you don't overwork the falafel batter.

Canned chickpeas do not work for falafel. They're far too wet. If you try to use canned chickpeas instead of dried and soaked chickpeas, you'll end up with sad falafel pancakes. Some recipes try to counteract the wetness by adding flour, which significantly dulls the flavor and makes the texture more doughy.

Mash chickpeas, 2 tablespoons reserved chickpea liquid, tahini, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder together in a bowl using a potato masher, adding more reserved liquid if desired, until hummus is desired consistency, 50 to 100 strokes.

In short – yes! An immersion blender is a handheld blender with a small spinning blade that is immersed into ingredients to create smoothies, soups and sauces. A food processor has larger, flat blades at the bottom of the work bowl, or discs that sit at the top and can chop, shred, grind, puree and more.

Here are some options: if you have a blender (cheaper than a food processor) you can do it in a blender. Some blenders come with an extra jar-shaped thing for grinding up herbs. A mortar and pestle is the old way that people would pulverize food before electrical kitchen appliances were invented.

A binding ingredient can help keep it together, especially if you are using canned beans instead of dried. And the perfect binding ingredient for falafel is flour. Nothing fancy, just plain all-purpose flour. Add a few tablespoons at a time to your mixture, until you can press it easily into balls or patties.