Falafel
This month Brad and I have been trying not to eat out at all. It’s been difficult because we are surrounded by incredible restaurants. I must stop for a moment and give props to all our favorites: Pot Pan for Thai food (oh, wonderful Thai tea!), Kyu Sushi (where the owner greets us by name), Caffe de Luca (I’ve been craving their cobb salad), Sultan’s Market (Brad’s fave: he goes their at least once a week), Birchwood Kitchen (has the best sandwiches), the taqueria (not very fancy but cheap and delicious!), Piece (New Haven style pizza)….I could go on and on. Seriously all these places are within a 10 minute walk. The city is amazing! I haven’t even mentioned all the places we still have to try.
I love that we have all these restaurants nearby and I want to continue going there to support our local businesses and the development of our community. However, I also want to be a bit more protective of how often we eat out. Living simply means enjoying meals at home, not to mention saving money for the most important things (though sometimes a great meal out is at least a little important). So, in light of all this…Last night I made falafel.
I did several things wrong: I overloaded our food processor so it couldn’t successfully mix everything. I tried to make the “dough” at 5:00pm, when Ze is most cranky. I forgot that heating oil in our oven always sets off our smoke alarm. My wonderful husband rectified the situation by taking the babe for a walk (and picking up hummus…AND FLOWERS) while he was out. So, the process was not so fun but the falafel turned out wonderfully. It’s even mostly healthy since it is not deep fried.
So next time I will prepare most of this during Ze’s nap, but there definitely will be a next time. It was good-oh!
I followed this recipe from a friend:
2 T. olive oil divided
1 can 15 oz drained, rinsed chick peas
1 C diced onion
3 cloves garlic
1/4 C cilantro
1/4 C parsley
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 C all purpose flour
1 egg beaten
- Coat a 9×13 pan with non stick spray and 1 T olive oil and place in oven. Preheat to 375.
- Pulse everything except flour and egg until minced not paste. Transfer to bowl and stir in flour and egg until fully incorporated. Drop golf ball sized balls onto hot baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes.
- Brush falafel with remaining olive oil, flip and bake another 15-20 minutes until golden.
- Serve with pita, hummus, chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and cucumber slices.
