Falafel for Breakfast, Mealtime or Appetizer

My First Falafel

Not too long ago (July, to be exact), I made Falafel for the first time. I made them again, very shortly after, because my husband and I just truly loved them that much. Then shortly after that, there was a recipe in my September Food and Wine Magazine that was called Baked Kabocha Falafel. While this recipe didn't even have real chickpeas in it, but only chickpea flour, I really didn't want to go there, but the idea of adding squash to the falafel mixture intrigued me. 

To be clear, I have been pan-frying the falafel, made into small patties. I intensely dislike deep frying anything and avoid it at all cost. Not because of the frying, but just because of all that oil, and what to do with it afterwards, since it isn't likely to be used again in the next 5 years or so... My original intent was to bake the falafel, but ended up just pan-frying them all, and they taste so good, I haven't wanted to mess with the status quo. So pan-frying it continues to be.

I sat down with the original recipe I had created and thought about just how much squash should be added, or how much chickpea mixture to remove, in order to make the recipe taste good. I came up with amounts I felt would work and got to it. I still wanted to soak the chickpeas for 24 hours prior to making the mixture, so those went to soak. Meanwhile, I didn't have Kabocha squash but did have a Butternut Squash waiting to be used. I baked the butternut squash, in order to introduce the least additional liquid to the falafel recipe, and then once baked, I measured out 12 ounces of squash. To make the mixture, I did exactly the same thing as I had done previously: everything into the food processor and processing until well broken down, scraping the bowl often, to evenly distribute the ingredients. 

Butternut Squash Falafel

Lo and behold, I liked this mixture even better than the original one! 

One, it was easier to work with and form into patties. And two, I think it tasted just a tiny bit better. I grant you, the taste was not hugely different, but the ease of forming the patties really made these worthwhile. It seemed the pureed squash almost acted as a binder of sorts. I used no flour, no chickpea flour and no other binding agent. And these come out so great! 

So, now I have a Wine Tasting that I have to create foods for coming up on December 20th. Yikes! Nearly Christmas! And in thinking about what to make for this wine tasting, I had already come up with the Smoky Andouille & Corn Pouches, which pair excellently with a Malbec. And then I came up with the Mock Wellington Bites, which will pair well with a Cabernet Sauvignon, or other strong Red. Aside from those two, I am making two appetizers I have made before, and which are so flavorful: Hoisin Pork with Blackberry Chutney which pair with Pinot Noir and Spanakopita Cups that pair excellently with the austere features of a good Sauvignon Blanc or other white wine with that tartness level.

Butternut Squash Falafel as Appetizers

I decided to make these Squash Falafel, along with some mini Pita Breads, using a little Hummus and Turnip Pickle to decorate them. As it happened, the mini pita breads (I made 40 little breads rather than the 8 a recipe called for) worked perfectly. Cutting each one in half, each half held one little falafel patty perfectly. They are so darned cute and so amazingly tasty. I tasted them with a Chardonnay, which was perfect, but would love to try them with either an Albariño or Torrontes, or even a Pinto Gris to see how those might pair. But for now, I know that they pair with Chardonnay, and that's a great start.

These do not need to be used as an appetizer portion, not by any means. Since I do need appetizer portions for the Wine Tasting, mini pitas were a great holder, but if you aren't up to making all these little pita breads, consider cutting large, soft flatbreads into small squares (or even rounds) and spreading with a little hummus or tahini and yogurt spread and setting one little falafel on top, then garnish with something like these Turnip Pickles or with olives or other condiment.

As I write this and thought about it, I realize I never have placed my hummus recipe in this blog, so I will rectify that oversight here, also.

Butternut Squash Falafel

Butternut Squash Falafel as Appetizers

Makes about 38 (1½-inch diameter) falafel patties

1 cup (6.55 oz / 186 g) dried chickpeas
12 ounces baked butternut squash
½ medium onion, in chunks
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
¼ cup fresh parsley leaves
¼ cup fresh mint leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place the dry chickpeas into a large bowl and cover with water to rise above the chickpeas by at least 3 inches. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid of some kind and soak for 24 hours. Bake the squash in a 400 degree oven for about 50 minutes, or until tender all the way through when pierced with a knife. Allow to cool, then remove skin, scoop out seeds and weigh out 12 ounces of the squash. Use any remainder for another purpose.

Drain the chickpeas, discarding the water. Place the chickpeas into a food processor along with all the remaining ingredients. If your food processor is small, divide the ingredients into two or even three batches. Process each batch until the chickpeas are like coarse meal. There should be no large lumps of chickpea left. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl often. 

Place the mixture, covered, in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or overnight. Use a small scoop of about a tablespoon of the mixture and form a small, round patty about ⅜ to ¼-inch thick and about 1½-inches in diameter. Have a skillet heated to medium or medium low. Use oil as needed (I used olive oil) to keep the patties from sticking to the pan and fry them on each side until they hold their shape and are deeply golden browned on both sides. Fry them in batches, as needed, removing to paper toweling to drain.

Hummus

Hummus

Makes about 2 cups 

1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans/chickpeas
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons Tahini (sesame paste)
3 - 4 tablespoons lemon or lime juice, to taste
⅓ to ½ cup good quality olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Drain the chickpeas and run them under water for at least a couple of minutes. Drain well and place in food processor along with the garlic (mince first or it could end up in large chunks), tahini and about 2 tablespoons of the lemon/lime juice. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Gradually drizzle in the olive oil, until incorporated. Taste for salt and pepper, and add salt and more lemon juice if needed, to taste.

NOTES: To make this into red pepper hummus, drain a tiny jar of roasted red bell pepper with the initial ingredients. Substitute the red bell pepper for a few artichoke hearts, if desired, or with spinach.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Learning About Falafel

I had heard of falafel for a very long time. With all the foods I have made and eaten, I had never yet tried falafel, and yesterday I wondered to myself why that might be? I have no good response for that question in my mind, so I did what I usually do. I  went online and looked up falafel, and read, and read some more, and then more. All in all I spent about 3½ hours reading about falafel, what they are, how they are made, the differences between recipes, the "right" and "wrong" ways of going about making them.

Falafel in flatbread with hummus, cucumber and arugula

While 3½ hours online does not an expert make, still, I learned quite a bit. Though I had heard the word falafel, knew it was a food, and even that I believed they were fried, that is about the sum total of my knowledge until yesterday. What they were made of was a total unknown. So, here are some things I learned:

• Falafel are made from a base of chickpeas and/or fava beans.
• While many use canned chickpeas, they do not provide the correct consistency, thus necessitating the addition of flour (wheat, chickpea or other), baking soda, and sometimes even egg to bind the mixture enough to shape.
• Falafel are traditionally made into round balls and deep fried.
• Falafel are eaten as street food in many Middle Eastern countries.
• The word "falafel" can refer to the little fried balls themselves, or to the "sandwich" made of them using pita bread.
• Falafel are high in complex carbohydrates, proteins and fiber and contain no cholesterol until they are fried.
• Falafel are often served alongside hummus.
• Falafel are often served with a yogurt sauce, or even tzatziki. 
• Falafel are served similarly to gyros, folded into a warm pita or flatbread, with cucumber, tomato and a tzatziki type sauce.

Since my husband and I have been eating a healthier diet of late, the concept of falafel, made with mainly chickpeas (which we both like - we love hummus) and the addition of other good things like parsley, cilantro, mint and some spices, these sounded like a good thing to try. The only sticking point is the deep-frying part. I absolutely hate to deep-fry things. I don't like heating up that much oil. And then what to do with it once I'm done? The likelihood of me deep frying anything else within a 5-year period is slim to none. So, the oil is all wasted.

At that point, I started looking for recipes to bake falafel. And while there are many recipes out there for baked falafel, I was getting the distinct impression that even if they are just pan fried in a little bit of oil, they taste better than baked. I decided to try it both ways and see how things come out. As it turned out, I ended up pan-frying the whole lot, so I never even got to testing the oven baked concept. But this will not be the last time making them. We both were completely enchanted with them!

While most of the recipes call for using a yogurt type sauce and/or hummus as sides to the falafel, one place jumped out as different by using a red sauce. I kept in mind the main ingredients but did not write down the recipe. All I knew is that roasted garlic and roasted red bell pepper were involved, and those two ingredients had me salivating. I went ahead and made a sauce, and I am absolutely sure it will be great with falafel, I am also sure it would be great on a lot of things. Omelets come to mind! Or burgers, or even fries! It's that good! I'm foreseeing a lot of this sauce being made in the near future also!

Roasted Garlic & Red Pepper Sauce

Makes about ¾ cup

Roasted Garlic & Red Pepper Sauce

4 or 5 roasted cloves garlic
1 large red bell pepper
1 large shallot
1 Roma tomato
1 teaspoon tahini
1 teaspoon ground sumac
¼ teaspoon Aleppo pepper
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt

If roasted garlic is not already made, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut of the top portion of a whole head of garlic. Set it into a piece of foil large enough to enclose the head of garlic. Drizzle a little olive oil over top, seal the package and set into a small, oven proof ramekin and bake for 45 minutes. Once baked, simply squeeze out the garlic.

Preheat the broiler. Set the bell pepper onto a foil lined baking sheet and place under broiler so that it is about 3 to 4 inches away from the broiler element. Allow the skin of the pepper to completely blacken before turning it so another side is exposed. Once it has blackened all around, remove the pepper to a zip-top bag and seal, allowing it to steam for a few minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove all skin, then remove seeds and membranes and place the roasted pepper into a blender container, along with the garlic.

Once the pepper is done, cut up the shallot into some few pieces and set onto the same foil lined pan and roast until it smells sweet and there are a few little darkened patches. Add the shallot pieces to the blender with all the remaining ingredients. Blend to a smooth puree. You should have approximately 1½ cups. Pour this into a non-stick skillet and cook down to about half, leaving a thickened ¾ cup of sauce. The sauce will keep for about 5 days in the fridge.

Typically, falafel are served in pita breads. For some odd reason, the stores here had not carried pita breads, but only flatbreads. Now, just the other day, suddenly there are pita breads in the section with cheeses, so they are chilled. The breads themselves were hard as rocks, so needless to say, flatbreads it is for this first try!

Falafel, sprinkled with salt

Falafel

Makes about 30 to 35 two-inch patties

1¾ cups dried chickpeas
1 small onion
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeno, seeds removed
½ cup parsley
½ cup mint leaves
1 cup cilantro
2 teaspoons cumin, ground
2 teaspoons coriander, ground
½ teaspoon black pepper, ground

The day before making falafel, place the chickpeas in a bowl and cover by at least 3 inches with water. Cover the bowl and leave them to soak for 18 to 24 hours. Once ready, they should break apart between two fingers. Once ready, drain the remaining water and place the soaked chickpeas in the container of a food processor, along with all the remaining ingredients. Process, stopping to scrape down frequently, until the mixture is like coarse sand, leaving some texture, not a paste. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 2 or 3 hours.

Once ready to cook, you may deep-fry them, of course, but they were just perfect made in a skillet with oil added as needed. If you own a little cookie scoop, one that scoops about a tablespoon of dough, this worked perfectly. The falafel are small, but very easy to manage in the skillet. Scoop out a tablespoon-sized portion, flatten in your hand, then set into the hot skillet with enough oil to fry them easily.

Scoop, flatten and fry the falafel

Fry the patties on medium to medium-low heat. They can take about 2 or 3 minutes per side, at this size. If larger, they may take longer. The patties should be dark brown on the outsides and cooked through, but still tender, in the centers.

At this point, the falafel may be eaten with hummus, or with a yogurt and tahini sauce, or wrap them in pita or flatbread with the additions of cucumber slices, tomato slices and lettuce. Another addition seems to be pickled turnip, but I have yet to try that.




My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Hummus and Cheesecake

Hummus and Cheesecake don't sound all that good when placed together like that, but it happens to be what I was working on today. 

Separately. 

Dulce de Leche

The cheesecake is an idea I have had for more than a month, but with all the holiday baking and other holiday foods, there just wasn't time to get to this - or even any desire to have yet another sweet around the house. While I still don't need another sweet around the house, I did want to make this and see how it comes out, so it is being created for our New Year's Day Feast.

It all started with making dulce de leche, back that month-and-more ago. I had seen so very many ways to make it with sweetened condensed milk, and wanted to try at least one. The safest way, in my mind was in the crock pot, since once it is made, it does not have to be opened right away, which is a really good thing. So, I took the labels off of two cans of sweetened condensed milk and set them in my crock pot, covered with water. I put the lid on and waited until I was ready for bed and turned on the crock pot to Low. I had read that 8 hours in the crock pot gives a lighter colored dulce de leche and 9 hours gives a darker result. I left it in for 8½ hours, splitting the difference.

In case you are unfamiliar with dulce de leche, it just means (in Spanish) "a sweet made from milk". The Spanish culture, along with others like Indian seem to use milk for a lot of their sweet treats. When I lived in Guatemala there were at least 3 or more different "typical" candies made with milk, and I loved them all. I am not completely positive, but I believe that dulce de leche is from Spain originally, but it took off and has become known most everywhere now. The husband of my best friend in Guatemala was from northern Spain, and she made him this treat regularly; unopened cans in the pressure cooker for 1 hour, which just gives me the willies, still.

Pecan Crust with melty chocolate chips

Anyway, I made my dulce de leche, allowed it to cool, then stored it in my pantry, until today. Wanting to get a jump on things, I set today as my cheesecake-making day. I had created a recipe - on paper only - of what I wanted to do. My idea was a "Turtle Cheesecake" but using the DdL instead of any other caramel. Pecans are a must for anything Turtle, as is chocolate and the caramel. I made the crust with pecans, sugar, vanilla and butter - so this cheesecake will be completely Gluten-Free. I baked the crust, then straight from the oven I tossed in 1/2 teaspoon of Fleur de Sel (coarse sea salt) and 3/4 cup of dark chocolate chips. As I proceeded with  making the filling for the cheesecake, the chocolate chips softened, and I spread the chocolate over the crust.

Just Baked Cheesecake

The filling is a mixture of cream cheese, DdL, sour cream, brown sugar, vanilla bean, coarse salt and eggs. The batter tasted heavenly and the cheesecake smelled fantastic during the baking process. So far so good. It looks perfect. I intend to top the cheesecake with toasted pecan halves, then drizzle with some reserved DdL and then some melted chocolate. 

Meanwhile, for Christmas Eve and for New Year's Eve I always make lots of little appetizers and snack things; no meal. One of the things I haven't made in a while is hummus, so I really wanted to make that. My husband loves hummus too, and we both prefer it with roasted red pepper in it. I made an addition of caramelized onion, because I  had already made some last week for another application. The caramelized onion is completely optional. In fact, I wouldn't really recommend it unless you already have some made (never a bad idea, but it takes the better part of an hour to make). This was the first time I made hummus with the caramelized onion, and it is excellent, but it was just fine without it, so you decide.

Making caramelized onion was something I did last week, figuring I would make plenty so I had leftovers. I thinly sliced and then rough-chopped 3 large onions. I heated a large skillet with some butter and added in the onions, along with a good pinch of salt and another good pinch of sugar. On medium low, I let the onions cook, stirring occasionally at first, then more often as the onions began to color. It took about 50 minutes before the onions were a beautiful deep caramel color - not burnt. My hummus recipe is as follows:

Red Pepper Hummus with Caramelized Onion

1 can (15 ounce) garbanzo beans / chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
1 small jar (4 ounces) red pepper / pimiento, drained

Red Pepper Hummus with Caramelized Onion

1 large onion, caramelized (about 3 tablespoons)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
3 - 4 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt, optional
a few grinds of pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil
Place all the ingredients except the olive oil into the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. With the processor running, pour in the olive oil until it is all incorporated.

A trick I learned a long time ago from a friend; if raw onion or garlic do not agree with you, simply place them in a small bowl to soak for 10 minutes in vinegar. Drain and use for any application. I love garlic and onion, but not raw, so for this recipe I did soak the garlic in white vinegar while prepping the rest of the ingredients. It makes the whole thing far more easily digested and therefore enjoyable. Cheers!


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.