While on a plane ride to New York City to do some holiday shopping, I was thankfully on the airline with the televisions in the backs of the head rests. I flipped through all the sporting channels and finally landed on a cooking show. The television personality was making falafel and his inspiration was from a Californian diner. The “guy's” recipe included a tremendous amount of parsley and cilantro turning the mixes color from brown to bright green.
Due to a relentless amount of turbulence the cable kept going in and out of service, and I never saw how it came out.
It dawned on me that we don't see a lot of this meatless wonder in upstate, and we should because it is really good. There are a few restaurants in Ithaca and in Syracuse that serve this Middle Eastern treat, but it hasn't really reached a mainstream audience.
Falafel is a fried patty or ball made of spiced chickpeas or fava beans. Not wanting to get into a debate over where or who first made the falafel (quite controversial topic between Israelis and Palestinians), I will credit the chickpeas themselves for being one of the earliest staples of the civilized human diet, and I thankfully recognize that someone was smart enough to mash and fry them up.
Falafel is appreciated as both a street food and as an integral part of a meze plate, a selection of appetizers offered to welcome guests. What better time to try something different than when we are receiving guests this holiday season.
The first step in making falafel is mashing the chickpeas. I couldn't find fava beans or else I would have done a side by side taste comparison. To make life easy, I used the canned pre-cooked chickpeas (15-ounce can), also known as garbanzo beans.
First step is to drain and mash the chickpeas into a pasty consistency. I used a hand-masher but they can also be mashed in a food processor being careful not to puree the chickpeas (pureeing will make them mealy and grainy); having some chunks will not hurt the final product and will actually keep them tender.
To the chickpeas I added a half cup of finely chopped onions, 1 minced clove of garlic, and a 1/4 cup of parsley. If using fresh parsley, then double the amount.
In a separate bowl combine an egg, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, a teaspoon of garlic salt and pepper, a dash of cayenne pepper, and a teaspoon of baking powder and cumin.
Add egg mixture to chickpea mixture then drizzle in a tablespoon of olive oil and enough bread crumbs to make the final mix sticky enough to stick together without sticking to your hands.
I recommend frying a sample patty before you cook the entire batch.
Seasonings are a lot easier to adjust before you cook the rest of the patties. The flavor will also intensify if left to sit in the refrigerator overnight. I prefer shaping the falafel mix into patties for pita pocket sandwiches and balls for appetizers. Fry until they are golden brown on all sides then drain on a paper towel. Serve falafel warm.
For my Thursday night falafel party, we made pita sandwiches with lettuce, tomato and two different sauces.
One sauce was a combination of drained plain yogurt, de-seeded peeled, minced cucumber, dill, lemon juice, sour cream and salt and pepper.
After combining all the ingredients, I poured the mix into a coffee filter lined strainer over a bowl and refrigerated for a few hours. More of the liquid will drain out leaving a thicker sauce and stronger flavor.
The other sauce was a mix of mayonnaise with pickled hot peppers. This sauce had a nice vinegar taste with a kick.
Falafel is commonly served with tahini, a sesame seed paste that is thinned with lemon juice. I placed three pita pockets in a tea towel with a wet paper towel in the microwave and warmed for a minute and a half, then cut the pitas in half and filled the pockets.
Two half sandwiches were filling enough as a dinner portion.
Chickpeas are a good source of protein, iron and thiamine and high in dietary fiber.
This year instead of serving the same old tired appetizers to your friends and family, spice it up with this Middle Eastern favorite.
Deliciously nutty and filling as a meal or crunchy and flavorful as an hors d'oeuvres, look no further than a simple can of chickpeas.
Have a happy, tasty and safe holiday season.
Valerie Usowski, an Auburn native, is the banquet manager at the Auburn Holiday Inn and a
Culinary Institute of America
graduate
It dawned on me that we don't see a lot of this meatless wonder in upstate, and we should because it is really good. There are a few restaurants in Ithaca and in Syracuse that serve this Middle Eastern treat, but it hasn't really reached a mainstream audience.
Falafel is a fried patty or ball made of spiced chickpeas or fava beans. Not wanting to get into a debate over where or who first made the falafel (quite controversial topic between Israelis and Palestinians), I will credit the chickpeas themselves for being one of the earliest staples of the civilized human diet, and I thankfully recognize that someone was smart enough to mash and fry them up.
Falafel is appreciated as both a street food and as an integral part of a meze plate, a selection of appetizers offered to welcome guests. What better time to try something different than when we are receiving guests this holiday season.
The first step in making falafel is mashing the chickpeas. I couldn't find fava beans or else I would have done a side by side taste comparison. To make life easy, I used the canned pre-cooked chickpeas (15-ounce can), also known as garbanzo beans.
First step is to drain and mash the chickpeas into a pasty consistency. I used a hand-masher but they can also be mashed in a food processor being careful not to puree the chickpeas (pureeing will make them mealy and grainy); having some chunks will not hurt the final product and will actually keep them tender.
To the chickpeas I added a half cup of finely chopped onions, 1 minced clove of garlic, and a 1/4 cup of parsley. If using fresh parsley, then double the amount.
In a separate bowl combine an egg, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, a teaspoon of garlic salt and pepper, a dash of cayenne pepper, and a teaspoon of baking powder and cumin.
Add egg mixture to chickpea mixture then drizzle in a tablespoon of olive oil and enough bread crumbs to make the final mix sticky enough to stick together without sticking to your hands.
I recommend frying a sample patty before you cook the entire batch.
Seasonings are a lot easier to adjust before you cook the rest of the patties. The flavor will also intensify if left to sit in the refrigerator overnight. I prefer shaping the falafel mix into patties for pita pocket sandwiches and balls for appetizers. Fry until they are golden brown on all sides then drain on a paper towel. Serve falafel warm.
For my Thursday night falafel party, we made pita sandwiches with lettuce, tomato and two different sauces.
One sauce was a combination of drained plain yogurt, de-seeded peeled, minced cucumber, dill, lemon juice, sour cream and salt and pepper.
After combining all the ingredients, I poured the mix into a coffee filter lined strainer over a bowl and refrigerated for a few hours. More of the liquid will drain out leaving a thicker sauce and stronger flavor.
The other sauce was a mix of mayonnaise with pickled hot peppers. This sauce had a nice vinegar taste with a kick.
Falafel is commonly served with tahini, a sesame seed paste that is thinned with lemon juice. I placed three pita pockets in a tea towel with a wet paper towel in the microwave and warmed for a minute and a half, then cut the pitas in half and filled the pockets.
Two half sandwiches were filling enough as a dinner portion.
Chickpeas are a good source of protein, iron and thiamine and high in dietary fiber.
This year instead of serving the same old tired appetizers to your friends and family, spice it up with this Middle Eastern favorite.
Deliciously nutty and filling as a meal or crunchy and flavorful as an hors d'oeuvres, look no further than a simple can of chickpeas.
Have a happy, tasty and safe holiday season.
Valerie Usowski, an Auburn native, is the banquet manager at the Auburn Holiday Inn and a
Culinary Institute of America
graduate
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