falafel with tzatziki
Allright, let’s keep this going.
I shall call this series…
The Poorly Photographed Food I Eat at 2am.
Catchy, right?
Up now: falafel with tzatziki and crispy, oven-baked fries.
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I was flipping through some old issues of Saveur when an article on Jerusalem caught my eye. It featured vivid scenes of a bustling shuk, or market: shakshuka--eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce--simmering away on a stovetop ...
a.k.a. ratatouille, sort of. An authentic ratatouille would contain zucchini (not a fan) and be sauteed (not as easy). Eli's mom always brings basketloads of tasty edibles when she comes for a visit. The visit before la ...
Falafel (from allrecipes.com)
makes about 8 patties
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 egg
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon coarse salt
pinch of black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
about 1 cup dry bread crumbs
In a food processor, process onion, parsely, and garlic until smooth. Add chickpeas, egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, lemon juice, oil, and baking soda. Pulse a couple of times until combined, then slowly add as many bread crumbs as needed, until mixture is not sticky but will hold together. Do not over-process–you don’t want a perfectly smooth puree.
Form mixture into 8 balls, then flatten into patties. (Mixture can be refrigerated for a couple of days at this point, or frozen up to a month. Bring to room temperature before frying.)
Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, to about 350-360. Fry patties until deep, golden brown on both sides, then transfer to a paper towel. These are also pretty good baked if you’re leery of frying. I’ve heard, though, if you fry them at the right temperature, they’ll absorb very little oil.
Tzatziki
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded (or unseeded if you’d like a thinner dressing) and finely minced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 scallions, finely minced
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt, pepper, and fresh or dry dill, to taste
Stir together all ingredients; refrigerate for a couple of hours to let the flavors meld, if possible.
WOW… real live falafel? and tzatziki? Please oh please can we have this next time I visit? I don’t have a food processor but I’m thinking I can use the hand-held blender thing. Actually, I can’t wait. Mmm!
These are delicious!!! Fried the first batch, but will try baking the next ones to compare. I do have a food processor, a little Moulinex, and it was so easy. The tzatziki is delightful. Your photographs had me running to the store for missing ingredients–thanks a bunch!
glad you liked it! i may have to make it next time you visit anyway, now that you mention it :) mmmm