Levant — Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Israel
Falafel & Hummus Mezze Platter
Crackly green herb-flecked falafel and lemon-bright hummus with warm pita and pickles — the original plant-based street food, mostly unchanged for 1,500 years.
Prep
25 min
Cook
15 min
Serves
4
Level
Medium
Flavor
Herbal · lemony · creamy · spiced
The Story
Why this dish — and how it became plant-based
Falafel and hummus are some of the oldest documented vegan foods on Earth — recipes for both appear in 13th-century Arabic cookbooks, and the chickpea itself was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent over 7,000 years ago. The Middle East didn't 'go vegan'; meat was simply expensive, and the genius of the region's cooks turned grain, legume and herb into something every culture has since envied.
The single biggest mistake people make at home is using canned chickpeas for falafel. They turn out dense and gummy. Real falafel requires soaked (not cooked) dried chickpeas — the raw starch is what gives the crisp shell and fluffy interior. Plan ahead by a day; the result is worth the wait.
Ingredients
What you'll need
Falafel
- •250g dried chickpeas (NOT canned), soaked 24 hours in cold water + 1 tsp baking soda
- •1 small onion, roughly chopped
- •4 garlic cloves
- •1 cup fresh parsley, packed
- •1 cup fresh cilantro, packed
- •2 tsp ground cumin
- •1 tsp ground coriander
- •½ tsp cayenne (optional)
- •1½ tsp salt
- •1 tsp baking powder (added just before frying)
- •1 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
- •Neutral oil for deep or shallow frying
Hummus
- •1 can (400g) chickpeas, drained — reserve liquid
- •⅓ cup tahini (good quality, runny)
- •Juice of 1–2 lemons
- •1 garlic clove
- •½ tsp ground cumin
- •½ tsp salt
- •2–4 tbsp ice water
- •Olive oil and paprika to finish
To serve
- •4 warm pita breads
- •Sliced tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, romaine
- •Tahini-lemon sauce (½ cup tahini + lemon juice + water)
- •Pickled turnips, olives, chili paste (zhug or harissa)
Method
Step by step
- 1
Drain the soaked chickpeas thoroughly and pat dry — moisture is the enemy.
- 2
In a food processor, pulse chickpeas, onion, garlic, herbs, spices and salt until the mix looks like coarse couscous — not a paste. Stop and scrape often. Don't over-process.
- 3
Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (up to 24 hours).
- 4
Just before frying, stir in baking powder and sesame seeds if using.
- 5
Heat oil to 175°C / 350°F in a deep pot (or 2cm of oil in a heavy skillet for shallow frying).
- 6
Form 2-tablespoon-sized balls or patties (a falafel scoop helps). Fry in batches 3–4 minutes per side until deeply golden and crackly. Drain on paper.
- 7
Make hummus: blend tahini and lemon juice in a food processor for 1 full minute until pale and fluffy. Add garlic, cumin, salt and chickpeas. Blend, drizzling in ice water until silky — at least 3 minutes total.
- 8
Spread hummus on a platter, swirl the surface, drizzle with olive oil and dust with paprika. Build pitas with falafel, salad, pickles and tahini sauce.
Chef Notes
Get it right the first time
- →Soaked, not cooked. Cooked chickpeas release too much moisture and the falafel will fall apart in the oil.
- →Whip the tahini and lemon together first, before adding the chickpeas. This is the single trick that takes home hummus from grainy to creamy.
- →Ice water in hummus is the second trick. It aerates the paste.
- →If your mixture won't hold its shape, refrigerate longer rather than adding flour — flour makes them stodgy.
- →Falafel are best eaten within minutes of frying. The mixture, though, freezes beautifully raw — portion into balls, freeze, and fry from frozen.
Serve with
Cucumber-tomato salad with sumac · Tabbouleh · Mint lemonade or arak · Knafeh for dessert
One Plate, Two Wins
Delicious tonight. Kind every night.
Every traditional dish has a plant-based soul waiting to be uncovered — you just have to listen to the spices, not the meat.
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