Thursday, April 29, 2010

Fist 'Fel of Chickpeas


It’s been a very busy week in my little world- my husband and I spent the weekend up in Maine for Fisherman’s Festival with our family and friends, I drove down from Boston on Monday morning after dropping him off at his ship, my Mother-in-Law came for a visit, and work has been a zoo. As a result of all these happenings, I have had very little motivation to cook, at least until last night. I had thinned out our fridge stock before leaving for the weekend, and it finally got to the point where I had to go to the store yesterday and re-stock. I had spent a good portion of the afternoon trying to figure out what I wanted to make for dinner (nothing too time consuming, something relatively healthy and light), when it finally dawned on me: falafel!

I had been trolling one of the cooking chat posts I frequent and Josie of Pink Parsley had posted a recipe for baked falafel that suddenly struck a chord with me. I couldn’t remember the last time I had falafel, and knew it would be the perfect easy dinner, and it was! I made a couple of amendments (noted in italics) to Josie’s recipe for what I had on hand, and they turned out wonderfully. I was thrilled to be able to use some of the fresh herbs I’ve been growing, and the flavor of these little patties was on point. To serve with the falafel, I picked up some marinated olives, mushrooms, garlic and feta off of the olive bar, mixed up a quick batch of Fantastic World Foods tabouli from their mix (my go to for quick items when I just don’t have the energy, with wonderful organic ingredients!), made a quick zucchini Tzatziki sauce (which has been long evolving from various sources) and threw on a little Sabra roasted garlic hummus for good measure with some with some lentil & black bean pappadum snacks and had a perfect light meal! I found the papadum snacks in the world food aisle at our local grocery store (think bright blue Pringles canister, but much more tasty holdings), and I am already addicted to these crispy little lentil treats. They’re about the size of a silver dollar and packed with flavor. As an added bonus, they are already cooked, so you don’t have to worry about frying.

Although this wasn’t one of my usual “from scratch” meals, it was wholly satisfying without being overwhelming to make. I noticed in putting this post together that Josie’s recipe had been an evolution of a recipe from Kate’s World Kitchen, which had come from a recipe on Epicurious. I love that idea within the food blogging community, recipes can be passed down and altered along the way and shared with others, and each time the dish takes on a new personality and a new story. The possibilities for falafel are endless, and I know this will be a go to again and again!

Falafel with Fresh Herbs and Zucchini-Lemon Tzatziki

For the Falafel (adapted from Pink Parsley’s Baked Falafel):

- 1 Cup dried chickpeas or 16oz. can of Goya chickpeas, rinsed & drained
- 1/2 Large onion, roughly chopped
- 4 Tblspns. finely chopped fresh parsley (flat leaf)
- 2 Tblspns. finely chopped fresh dill
- 1 Tblspn finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 Tspn. Cayenne- I upped it to about ½ tspn or so, I like a little extra kick!
- 4 Cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 Tspn ground cumin
- 2 Tspn. dried coriander
- Juice of 1 lemon- also added in ¼ of a lemon’s worth of zest for brightness
- 1 Tspn baking powder
- Up to 4 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour- I used regular whole wheat flour as I had it on hand
- Sea salt & cracked black pepper
- Olive oil

Place chickpeas, onion, spices, lemon and salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse several times to form a paste (I used our Magic Bullet. Don’t laugh- it worked!). Transfer paste to a good sized bowl, check salt & pepper seasoning and adjust if necessary. Mix in baking powder until well incorporated. Adding 1 tablespoon at a time, mix in flour until dough comes together in large firm mass (if mixture becomes too dry, you can add a little extra lemon juice or water).

Set oven warm, and place a metal rack over a baking sheet in the middle of the oven. Using your hands form chickpea mixture into approximately 2” balls and flatten into patties (work quickly so that mixture does not fall apart). Place patties on parchment paper.

Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Just as oil begins to smoke, add patties in and cook for 4-5 minutes per side, working in batches. Transfer patties to rack in oven to keep warm. Add additional olive oil as needed between batches. Once all patties have been cooked, serve with your favorite accompaniments, either in pitas with fresh greens, Tzatziki sauce and veggies, or as part of a platter with marinated olives, hummus, feta and tabouli salad. Falafel patties also freeze well, as there is minimal moisture and heat up quickly on the stovetop or oven.

For Zucchini- Tzatziki Sauce:

-1 ½ cups plain Greek Yogurt
-1 Small zucchini, minced (you can sub with a small cucumber, seeded and chopped too)
-2-3 Tblspns fresh dill, minced
-1 Large or 2 small cloves garlic, minced
-Juice from ½ a lemon
-1-2 Tblspns fresh lemon zest
-Sea salt & cracked black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, adjust salt and pepper to taste, and let sit as long as possible to allow flavors to come together. In addition to being an excellent falafel accompaniment, this sauce is wonderful when served as a dip with fresh vegetables or homemade pita chips. Also great on grilled lamb as well!

No comments:

Post a Comment