This one is way out of left field for me. I don’t enjoy chickpeas, I’ve never liked chickpeas. You know what else I don’t like? Hummus. So why would I even try to make falafel? It’s what I do here.
I had leftover rice and sauce from that banger of a combo platter post – but I didn’t have any meat left. This is keeping with the theme, so I’ll do it. SiblingBBQ also gave us her old air fryer, and I’ve never air fried anything so why not airfry something I haven’t made.. with something I don’t like. All seems logical right?
The Prep Table
That light blue container with the rice is all that I had leftover from the full pan. (If you missed out on the halal platter, Click Here and go back and read it!) Everything else on the tray we’re adding into this falafel thing. I had them chickpeas soaking for over 24 hours, so those were ready to go. Leftover onions and parsley were going to be used, but I had to go buy some dill and cilantro.
The Process
The smell wasn’t terrible, just handling this was. Reminded me of that old slimy foam that nickelodeon had when I was a child. Or maybe they still do – I don’t know. These fried balls better be delicious, because making the balls wasn’t any fun at all.
Our oven has the air fry option, we just haven’t used it. The family was throwing this out, so I figured I’d try it. I don’t know if it’s still a trendy thing or not, but I know everyone was air frying for a bit. You can see my 2025 was all about real, unhealthy frying. I dunno what this is all about. Let’s just dial-a-cook and try it.
It worked.. I can’t speak ill of the air fryer. But I can’t accurately say if this was good or bad, because I’ve never had falafel. (Kinda sick of typing the word falafel too). I know, my negativity of this vegetarian meal is shining through.
The Result
Throw the sauces on there and took a bite and it was… okay? I’m way more carnivore than omnivore, and far from herbivore. It was missing meat, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. I thought maybe the ‘fried’ part would kick it up a notch, and I don’t know if it really did at all. But I did it, and I don’t regret it. Head over to the Mediterranean Dish and scope out the recipes there