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Last weekend’s cooking adventures took on a very middle eastern flavor: falafel, hummus, tabouleh salad and my very first attempt at making baklava (stay tuned for the baklava post).
I’m going to go ahead and make a sweeping generalization here: pretty much everyone loves falafel, which are little patties made out of fried chickpea batter and a common form of street food in many countries of the world (though they are Arabic in origin). I had my first falafel from a street stand in Amsterdam circa 2001 (thank you, Debbie, for the formal introduction) and have been hooked ever since. If you’ve got a food processor, falafel is pretty easy to make at home, and the homemade version is way tastier than the boxed dry falafel mixes available most health food stores.
My first two attempts at making falafel resulted in a big mushy, crumbly mess. The key, I discovered, is always testing out a patty before you commit to rolling and frying the whole batter. If the patty falls apart in the oil, simply add more flour to the batter until the patties maintain their shape. Once you become a falafel pro, you’ll develop a sense for how wet the batter should be.
Falafel isn’t exactly elegant food (can “elegant” and “fried” go together?). In many parts of the world, it’s actually considered “fast food,” but I’ll take it over McDonald’s any day. It’s often served with a tahini sauce or yogurt cucumber sauce; I’ve developed a tofu-based version of the latter that I always make to accompany my falafel.
This batter should feed 4 to 5 people. I recommend serving on pita bread with tabouleh, hummus and cucumber-dill sauce (recipe below). Tip: only fry what you’re going to eat right away, because the falafel simply must be eaten hot and fresh. If you only use part of the batter, the remaining batter can be kept in the fridge for a day or so until you’re ready to eat it.
Falafel Ingredients:
- 2 cups of cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 T ground cumin
- scant 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, preferably freshly ground, more or less to taste
- 1/4 cup flour (I sometimes use chickpea flour in keeping with the theme of fried chickpea batter, but all-purpose or white whole wheat will do just as well); plus reserve some additional flour aside, be added in before frying
- oil for frying — something neutral, like canola or grapeseed, but olive oil would be okay too.
To Make the Falafel:
1. In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, onion, and bread crumbs until well chopped. Then add in the remaining ingredients (except for the frying oil) and combine until everything is well incorporated. Put the batter in a bowl, cover, and refridgerate for about 30 minutes (or more).
2. Fill a skillet with a layer of the frying oil — it doesn’t have to be much, less than 1/4 inch will do. Heat the oil to a medium high heat.
3. Now, onto the frying: always, always, ALWAYS do a tester patty. It’s very likely that you will need at add in more flour, maybe even up to 1/4 cup more, depending on what kind of flour you are using and how wet your batter is. The patties are made by rolling the batter into little balls, about one and half inches, and then slightly flattening them into patties (this will help you get more frying coverage). Throw your tester patty into the hot oil. If it falls apart and crumbles, you definitely need more flour. Fry on one side a few minutes, until the sides start to turn golden brown. Then flip and fry the other side, until the whole patty is golden brown.
4. Remove falafel from the hot oil with a slotted spoon and briefly place on paper towel to blot excess oil. Serve hot!
Cucumber-Dill Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 cup silken tofu
- 1 small cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1.5 T lemon juice
- 1/2 cup packed fresh dill weed or 2-3 T dried dill weed
- 1/4 tsp sea salt (or more to taste)
- black pepper to taste
To Make the Sauce:
1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor. You may have to scrape down the sides with a rubber scraper to ensure that all the ingredients are well incorporated
Before Friday’s led primary series at Back Bay Yoga, my lovely friend and fellow Ashtangi Callie surprised me at the studio with a gift: two boxes of crackers, aptly named, “Mary’s Gone Crackers.” These bad boys, pictured below, are made of organic brown rice, quinoa, flax seeds, and sesame seeds. Delightfully, every ingredient listed is both recognizable and pronounceable. As Callie put it, “These crackers have your name all over them — literally.” (BTW, Callie has good taste in more than just crackers. She founded Boston’s first eco-fashion boutique, situated in the heart of Newbury Street. Check it out at www.shopenvi.com.)
While these tasty and nutritious crackers have infinite uses, it occurred to me that they provided a perfect excuse to whip up some muhammara, a roasted red pepper dip that originates from Syria. Red bell peppers are one of my all-time favorite vegetables, and roasting them brings out a smoky-sweet flavor that is pretty hard to beat. Additionally, red bell peppers are a great source of vitamin C and Vitamin A. (This dip has other health-promoting ingredients as well: olive oil, which is one of the “good” fats for heart health, and walnuts, which are high in omega-3′s and anti-oxidants).
Really, there is just no other way to put it: muhammara is freaking awesome. In my experience, it always well-received (and by a wide range of palates, too). The recipe was graciously passed on to me by Jeff Lund, an attorney at my Dad’s law firm where I once spent my days entering data and answering phones. Jeff is a well-traveled fellow foodie who always seems to have good tips on the finer things in life. Though I’ve tweaked the recipe a tad, Jeff is entirely responsible for introducing me to it, so I must give credit where credit is due.
In addition to making a fabulous dip for crackers, pita bread and the like, muhammara is also great as a sandwich spread (especially if you’re getting tired of hummus).
This recipe will yield about 1.5 cups of pure deliciousness.
Ingredients:
- 2 large red bell peppers (or 3 smaller ones), to be roasted according to directions below (alternatively, you can use a 17 oz. jar of prepared roasted red peppers)
- 2/3 cup of fine bread crumbs (see directions below to make your own)
- 1/3 cup walnuts, lightly toasted in a dry skillet
- garlic cloves (anything from 1/2 a clove to 4 cloves, according to personal preferences)
- 2 T fresh lemon juice
- 2 T maple syrup (or pomegranate molasses if you want to be authentic, but it can be difficult to find)
- 1 heaping tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt (more or less to taste)
- 1/4 C + 1 T extra virgin olive oil (or more, depending on the consistency desired)
- optional garnish: additional chopped & toasted walnuts and fresh parsley
To make:
1. Roast the red bell peppers. Turn on your broiler and lightly oil a baking sheet with olive oil (or spray with non-stick cooking spray). Cut the bell peppers into strips, discarding the stem, seeds, and white parts. Place pepper strips on the baking sheet, cut side down, and broil until the tops are charred, as in photo below. Remove peppers from the broiler and place them under a large inverted bowl, which allows the steam to loosen the skin. (Alternatively, you can put the peppers in a sealed zip-lock plastic bag to achieve the same steaming effect). Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off.
2. Make the bread crumbs. You can make your own breadcrumbs by throwing a few pieces of bread into your food processor and pulsing. Then just spread them out on a baking sheet and throw them in your oven (I use my toaster oven).
3. Combine in food processor all the ingredients except the olive oil, stopping several times to scrape the sides of the processor with a rubber spatula, until the ingredients are well combined. Then, with the processor running, add olive oil in a thin stream until the desired consistency is achieved. (Note: the original recipe contained 3/4 cup of oil, but I find that makes the dip rather heavy, and I like to eat a LOT of it).
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