Falafel Salad — Words Instead of Chicken, Same Nourishment

The book tour. Twelve cities in three weeks. Atlanta first (home court, church fellowship hall, two hundred people, more than half of them Set the Table alumni and their families). Then Birmingham (where the review came from, where a woman named Sandra came up to me crying and said, "I made the fried chicken and it tasted like my mama's and my mama's been gone for fifteen years"). Then Nashville, Memphis, Savannah, Charleston, Charlotte (Destiny came — she's in her final semester at Johnson & Wales and she stood in the back of the room and cried and I pretended not to see). New Orleans. Houston. Jacksonville. Richmond. DC.

At every stop: women crying. Men crying. People holding the book like it was a bible and telling me about their mothers and their grandmothers and their kitchens and their cans (everyone has a can — a container of spice that lives on a counter and holds the memory of a woman who taught them to cook). The book is working. The book is connecting kitchens across the South. The book is doing what Mama did: feeding people. Different food. Same nourishment. Words instead of chicken. Stories instead of greens. But the same thing. The same thing. Always the same thing.

I was interviewed on Atlanta's NPR affiliate. The host asked about Mama. I talked about the Folgers can. I talked about Easter Sunday. I cried on air. The host cried too. Apparently half of Atlanta cried in their cars on the morning commute. The interview was the most-listened-to segment of the month. Crying is the seasoning. Tears are the salt. Mama would say: "Don't oversalt." But this time, the salt was right.

Twelve cities. All those kitchens people told me about, all those cans on all those counters. By the time I got home from the tour, I didn’t want to make fried chicken. I’d given so much of Mama’s recipes away in words that I needed something different on my own plate—something that would fill me up the same way without pulling me back into the crying. This falafel salad did that. Crispy on the outside, tender in the middle, herbs you can taste with your whole chest. Words instead of chicken. Same nourishment. Always the same thing.

Falafel Salad

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, packed
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, packed
• 1/4 cup white onion, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, for pan-frying
• 6 cups mixed greens
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Tahini Dressing

• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of cumin

Instructions

1. Make the falafel mixture. Add chickpeas, parsley, cilantro, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne, flour, salt, and pepper to a food processor. Pulse 10 to 12 times until the mixture is coarse and holds together when pressed but is not a smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
2. Shape the falafel. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of mixture per falafel and form into small patties, roughly 1/2 inch thick. You should get about 12 patties.
3. Pan-fry. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook falafel patties 3 to 4 minutes per side until deep golden brown and crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
4. Make the dressing. Whisk together tahini, lemon juice, warm water, garlic, salt, and cumin until smooth. Add a splash more water if needed to reach a drizzling consistency.
5. Assemble the salad. Divide mixed greens among four plates. Top with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and crumbled feta. Nestle three warm falafel patties onto each salad and drizzle generously with tahini dressing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 320 | Protein: 12g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 30g | Fiber: 7g | Sodium: 540mg