Kitchen experiments: easy falafel

This weekend, I got hungry for a snack, and since our pantry was in its customary state of day-before-grocery-shopping-barrenness, I was stumped. I had some leftover homemade hummus, but nothing to dip in it. What to do?

I knew falafel was made of chickpeas, just like hummus, so I had an idea -- could that hummus be transformed, somehow, into a falafel base, then fried to crispy golden goodness?

The answer, my friends, is yes.

Here's what I did:

1. I googled several falafel recipes to determine the main ingredients I was missing
2. I added an egg to my leftover hummus and stirred it all up
3. I added some Italian breadcrumbs (because that's what I had on hand) and stirred, then added some more breadcrumbs and stirred some more until the consistency was thicker and a little more doughy than hummus.
4. I heated some olive oil in a skillet
5. Then I added the batter to the skillet in a few spoonfuls and fried until golden brown on both sides.

Result: delicious!

I ate mine plain and with a little sriracha for some spice and it was yummy. It wasn't exactly like other falafel I've had in the past -- I guess it was closer to a chickpea pancake or something, but it was savory and delicious, and I recommend it.

Sorry my instructions are so vague and unhelpful. That's kind of how I roll in the kitchen: a little of this, a little of that, heat it up and hope for the best. Sometimes the results are disastrous, and sometimes -- they're savory, filling, tasty, golden-brown creations.