Falafel With Black Olives and Harissa Recipe
Unraveling the mysteries of home cooking through science.

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]
When I first completed my recipe for falafel, my first thought was "That's great—now how do we make it hotter?" That thought was immediately followed by some digging through the refrigerator for condiments, mixing them into batches of my raw falafel dough to see how they'd taste. I settled on harissa, the North African spice paste. It comes in a baffling variety of heat levels and styles, but for falafel, I like the high heat of DEA-brand harissa, which has chilies, garlic, coriander seed, and a good dose of caraway.
Why It Works
- Spicy harissa paste and salty black olives give falafel a punchy twist.
Read more: Heat Up Your Homemade Falafel With Harissa and Black Olives
- Yield:Serves 4
- Active time: 25 minutes
- Total time:40 minutes plus overnight soaking
- Rated:
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Easy, Herb-Packed Falafel
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) fresh harissa paste or store-bought harissa paste
- 3 ounces pitted black olives (about 1/2 cup; 85g), roughly chopped
- Tahini sauce, hummus, and/or zhug (Yemenite hot sauce) for serving
Directions
-
1.
Complete Easy, Herb-Packed Falafel recipe through the end of step 2. Add harissa and black olives to falafel mixture and fold in gently with a rubber spatula. Continue cooking falafel as directed, starting with step 3. Serve with zhug or tahini sauce.
This Recipe Appears In
Heat Up Your Homemade Falafel With Harissa and Black Olives The Food Lab: The Secrets to the Best Easy Homemade FalafelAll products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.
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