Pita with Falafel

To prepare pita with falafel, first soak the chickpeas 1 in cold water for 12 hours or overnight. In a mixer, place the flour, add the crumbled yeast 2 and the water 3,

Add the salt 4, attach the hook, and knead until the dough is well-formed 5. Move the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and fold it a couple of times 6 to make it smoother.

Place it in a bowl 7, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a dry place away from drafts for about 2 hours and 30 minutes, until it doubles in volume. Divide the dough into 6 pieces, each about 4.6 oz (130 g) 8. Flatten them slightly and bring the corners toward the center 9.

Finally, round them 10. Place the dough balls on a lightly floured baking sheet, dust with more flour 11, and cover with plastic wrap 12. Let them rise for 1 hour in a dry place away from drafts.

Transfer the dough balls to a lightly floured work surface, add more flour to the surface, and flatten them first with your fingertips 13 and then roll them out with a rolling pin 14 to form disks about 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter 15.

At this point, you can bake them on a preheated baking stone or simply on a baking sheet in a static oven at 482°F (250°C) for 10 minutes until they are nicely puffy and golden 16. Set aside. To prepare the falafel, drain the chickpeas, rinse them, and pat them dry with a clean cloth 17; they must be perfectly dry to achieve the right consistency for the dough. For extra safety, you can dry them further for 10 minutes in a fan oven at 212°F (100°C). Transfer them to a food processor and add the chopped onion 18.

Add the garlic 19, with the germ removed, and season with salt and pepper 20, then add the ground cumin 21.

Blend until you get a coarse texture, add the chopped parsley 22, and mix 23. Chop the parsley separately before adding it to the mixture. It is important to chop it separately because adding it whole to the mixer would release too much water, compromising the texture. Transfer everything to a bowl and compact well 34. Cover with plastic wrap in contact with the mixture and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Shape the falafel using a special tool 25; alternatively, you can proceed by hand: take small portions of the mixture and flatten them slightly between the palms of your hands, being careful to compact them very well. Proceed in this way until the mixture is finished; with these quantities, you will get about fifty. Fry them in seed oil at 338°F (170°C) for 4-5 minutes. Fry a few at a time so as not to lower the oil temperature too much. Drain them with a slotted spoon 26 and place them on absorbent paper 27 to remove excess oil.

Now you can fill your pitas, for example, with tomatoes 28, white cabbage 29, and purple cabbage. Place the falafel on the cabbage 30.

Complete with plain yogurt 31 and close the pita 32. Your pita with falafel is ready to be enjoyed 33!