Falafa-y’all (or “redneck falafel”) is my own invention. It’s basically falafel made with a Tex-Mex/Southwestern feel. It can be served as an appetizer, on a tortilla or pita bread, or with a sauce. (I’m developing a buttermilk chipotlé sauce, which I’ll put up here when I’ve perfected it.) It’s relatively easy to make and a kick-ass addition to Mexican/Tex-Mex, Southern, or California fusion cuisine.
INGREDIENTS (Spices are approximate, YMMV)
4 cans garbanzo beans 1 can kernel corn 1 can black beans 1/2 cup roasted red peppers or pimentos 2 tbsp cumin 2 tbsp red chili powder 1 tbsp garlic salt 1 tbsp cayenne pepper 1 tbsp black pepper 1/2 cup olive oil 2 1/2 cups flour
DIRECTIONS
Mash or puree garbanzo beans into a thick paste. Place in large bowl. Add 2 1/2 cups of flour (more or less, depending upon desired dryness — more flour equals drier falafa-y’all). Stir until thoroughly mixed into an almost dough-like substance.
Drain corn and black beans and pour into bowl. Chop red peppers into small pieces (or open and drain pimentos, which amounts to the same thing) and pour into bowl. Add olive oil and all seasonings. Fold with wooden spoon until mixture is complete.
Form mixture into 1″ to 2″ balls and flatten slightly. At this point, you can either cook them in a skillet with 1/2″ of oil or deep fry them. Either way, cook until deep golden brown, remove from heat and drain oil on a plate with paper towels. Serve.
Serves 5-10 people. You can also freeze the mixture or uncooked balls for later serving.