felafel

In an amazing burst of energy yesterday I decided to take my first crack at making felafel. It's so easy, I don't know why I didn't try it sooner! I could make the batter whilst feeling energetic, then fry the patties later for a quick hot meal. We were both feeling pretty exhausted by dinner time and took turns frying, but the spicy little patties did wonders for our congestion!

I used the recipe in Moosewood, halving it and using one 15-oz. can of chickpeas and Bob's Red Mill GF Baking Flour for the small amount of flour called for. I probably could have used any of the flours I have on hand, like potato flour, or my gf bread crumbs also.

So, chickpeas, fresh garlic, cumin, tumeric, salt, onion or scallions, parsley, water, lemon juice, cayenne. For the quick version, throw it all in a food processor. For the longer version, mince and mash everything by hand. (I opted for the quick version.) Then mix in the flour. At this point you can put it in an air-tight container and store it in the fridge for a few days. When you're ready to cook, heat up some oil in a deep skillet and drop spoonfuls of the batter, flattening them out a little when they hit the oil. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until crispy on the outside and hot on the inside.

Taste-wise, these turned out fantastically. I need to work on my batter consistency and frying time though. They were a little too crispy on the outside and a tad gooey on the inside. I think I should have used more flour and slightly less-hot oil.

We had these in combination with the leftover tabouli from the night before and a bit of plain yogurt* and a hummus I'd bought at Safeway that turned out to be not as good as the fresh stuff we buy at farmers' market. (I was desperate and I took a chance. We bought the good stuff at farmers' market this morning and as much as we're trying to be economical with our grocery budget these days, sometimes you have to know when to just toss something out and move on.) Mike also had pita with his. (I didn't have the energy to try making my own pitas yesterday, although the hot air on the balcony would have been great for dough-rising.)

Oh, and the yogurt turned out to be vanilla! I wondered why my meal was oddly sweet. I thought it was my cold, or the weird-tasting hummus. Why do they use the same color container for vanilla and plain?

We have a small amount of batter left that I'm thinking will be a nice hot lunch for me one day soon. Maybe after I've bought some plain yogurt.

*For vegan, omit the yogurt on the side.