At the end of 2019, in November, we woke up at the Airbnb we stayed at in Luxor, Egypt and walked up to the rooftop dining area. We were promised a true Egyptian breakfast and the personal chef certainly delivered! As we stumbled into the glorious morning sunshine we were welcomed by our Egyptian chef with a big smile.
The views over the West Bank were incredible, we could see the tombs of the ancient Egyptian workers and the mountain beyond that hides the valley of the Kings. Jeff lays full out on the couches and even catches a little nap under the cool shade of the canapy and the gentle breeze blowing. The chef is busy finishing the preparations of our breakfast and we feel like we can stay up here in the sanctuary of this rooftop all day.
He sat us down with a view of the Nile River and started bringing out steaming bowls of beans, meat and the star of the show: Falafels. The sides just came coming as he brought us humus, warm oita bread, tomatoes and cucumbers. Yes, these are items that make up a traditional Egyptian breakfast.
Falafels are the National dish of Egypt, Israel and Palestine and are sold as street food. We loved eating Falafels in Egypt and in Israel while visiting those countries. It’s a great dish for vegetarians and hardy eaters alike.
It’s also a great way to eat all those veggies growing in your summer garden: cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce. Serve them stuffed in a warm pita with a spread of humus on the bottom and a generous dollop of tziziki sauce (Yogurt cucumber sauce) on the top.
Falafels are not difficult to make but do take some advanced planning. You must soak the dry chickpeas over night and process them at least an hour before you are ready to fry them up. Don’t try to use canned chickpeas or chickpea flour because it will not work the same. Dry and soaked chickpeas are not cooked but canned chickpeas are so you can use canned chickpeas for humus but not for Falafels. But it makes a large batch and you can freeze the falafels and heat them up in the oven for a quick lunch another day.
Falafels
Ingredients:
- 1 pound dried chickpeas (soak in water over night, they will double in size, you will have 4-5 cups after they have soaked)
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1/4 cup Parsley or Parsley and Cilantro (or up to a cup for more green colored falafel)
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons flour or chickpea flour
- 1 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and cayenne pepper
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Soak the chickpeas overnight
- Combine all ingredients together except for the oil
- using a food processor Pulse the items together until they look like couscous. Not too blended so that it becomes a paste but blended enough that it will form a ball and stay together
- Form the falafels by squeezing in your hand
- Fry in heated oil until golden on both sides.
- Serve in a pita with humus, Tziziki, lettuce, cucumbers, red onions and tomatoes
