Falaffins - Falafel Muffin Cups

With Yom Haatzmaut coming up in a few days,  I was trying to think about what special muffin to make for Muffin Monday. I thought about what foods are synonymous with Israel and falafel was the first food to come to mind. I said to myself, no there's no way I can make a falafel as a muffin, so I made these delicious Blue and White Muffins instead. But then I thought why not? Israel is the land of saying why not? It is a country that defies the odds. A country that doesn't take no for an answer and pushes itself to be the best that it could be. So if Israel, a little piece of land the size of the state of New Jersey can accomplish so much in 73 years why can't I make a falafel into a muffin? 

These falafel muffins or falaffins as I like to call them are made from a simple mix of chickpeas, spices, and lots of fresh herbs to create the delicious flavor of falafel we all love. But instead of forming them into balls and frying as is usually done, the chickpea mixture is pressed into a muffin pan and baked to create a falafel muffin cup. These falaffins are crispy around the edges and soft on the inside. They are delicious on their own, but they are made even better when loaded up with classic falafel additions like Israeli salad, chummus, techina, and pickles. Or you can go the sabich route and fill the falaffins with chummus, fried eggplant, chopped hardboiled eggs, and amba. Shwarma is another option, make shwarma spiced chicken, chop it up and fill the falaffins along with chummus and pickles. Whichever filling you choose just make sure not to leave out the chummus because it acts as a barrier between the other fillings and the falafel so the bottom doesn't get soggy and break and really what is a falafel without chummus? 

Falaffins 

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight - NOT CANNED* - see below for more info

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic - not frozen cubes

1 tsp cumin 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/8 tsp hot paprika (optional) 

1/2 tsp baking powder 

Zest of one lemon 

1 1/2 packed cup fresh parsley and/or cilantro 

2 1/2 Tbsp olive oil  

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F 

Generously coat a standard-size muffin pan with oil and set it aside

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade, place all of the ingredients. Pulse until finely minced, scrape down the sides of the bowl and pulse a few more times until just combined. Make sure not to turn this into a pureed mix or this result in a dense and chewy falafel and no one wants that. 

Place a heaping tablespoon of the chickpea mixture into each space of the prepared muffin pan. Wet your fingers slightly and using your fingers or the base of a disposable shot glass gently press the mixture into the pan creating a small well in the center and walls around the side. Make sure that you don't make the base on the bottom too thin or else the falaffin will crumble when baked. Once all the falaffins have been formed spray the tops with oil and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown around the edges. Leave the falaffins in the pan for 10 minutes and then place a tray over the top and carefully flip the pan to remove them from the muffin pan. If you have any extra falaffin batter and no more muffin cups just roll the remaining batter into falafel balls and bake along with the falaffins. 

To serve place about 1/2 a teaspoon of chummus on the bottom of each falaffin and then fill up with your favorite falafel additions.

The falaffins can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in the fridge in an airtight container or in the freezer just pop them into a 190°C/375° oven to defrost and crisp up. 

*To achieve the perfect crumbly soft texture of falafel these need to be made with dried chickpeas that have been soaked not canned. Place 1 cup of dried chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with a few inches of water. Leave the chickpeas to soak for 8 hours or overnight they will grow in size and be slightly softer if you can firmly press one between your fingers and it breaks you're good to go. If you're short on time you can achieve the same texture with a quick soak. Simply place the dried chickpeas in a large pot and cover with a few inches of water, bring to a rolling boil and allow the chickpeas to boil for 5 minutes. Turn the heat off, cover the pot and let the chickpeas sit for one hour. Canned chickpeas are too soft and have too much moisture and will result in a wet and mushy falaffin. 

This recipe can also be used to make regular baked falafel balls. Just form the chickpea mixture into patties or balls, place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, spray the tops and bake for 25 minutes flipping halfway through. 

Yield: 12-14 falaffins