falafel + hummus.

if i was a cartoon-drawing kind of gal, i would have a comic strip involving a couple named falafel and hummus. i'm not sure what they'd be, or what they'd be doing, but one of them would certainly be ballsy and the other one kinda wet. anyway

i love the first photo in susan's post, it makes me hungry everytime i see it. falafel, a sort of middle eastern ground chickpea or fava bean non-meat meatball, is one of those things that is relatively easy to make, but something i don't think about doing. there seems to be endless variations on the basic recipe, but i tend to like ones that are a little crunchy on the outside, creamy and a little spicy on the inside. like susan, i used an epicurious recipe, but adapted it slightly so there would be a little more flavour and maybe cook up a little quicker, as i had intended on grilling them as small patties. you know, like healthy? harrrrgh. about two seconds after pulling the grill out, i changed my mind and decided to fry them after all. the result was a zingy little number that was lightly crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside. they fried up super-fast, so they did not become oily or greasy, so i don't feel so bad about not grilling them. the extra spices and herbs meant that these falafel were actually quite tasty on their own--so much so they never made it to their pita sandwich destination.

the hummus (hummous, houmous, who? moose?) is another adaptation of a recipe from "a year in my kitchen" by skye gyngell (like the beetroot purée). in fact, the spices and herbs are almost identical to the beet recipe, but with chickpeas as a base, the texture and flavour are still quite different. my version also has almost the same ingredients as the falafel recipe, so frankly, they aren't really that much different from each other (hey, i see my cartoon's backstory shaping up!). they are okay paired together, but as they taste nearly the same, you'll probably want to add other contrasting and complementing flavours and textures to the plate. ms. gyngell does not like to refer to this as hummus as it has so much more flavour; i absolutely agree, but 'hummus' sounds sooo much better than 'chickpea paste', so perhaps i'll just leave it as that.

falafel adapted from "my favorite falafel" recipe on epicurious

3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained
1/2 bunch flat leafed parsley, finely chopped
1/2 bunch coriander/cilantro, finely chopped
4-5 green onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoonful salt
1 teaspoonful cayenne pepper
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 teaspoonful roasted spice mix (see beetroot purée recipe)

1 teaspoonful baking powder
4-6 tablespoons flour

vegetable oil for frying

dump all the ingredients except the baking powder and flour into a food processor. process until blended, but still somewhat chunky.

sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of flour then pulse. check to see if the mixture holds together but isn't too sticky--if it's still sticky, add more flour.

transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate overnight.

form the mixture into small semi-compact balls; i use a 2 oz. cookie scoop.

heat about 2-3 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a pot, fry a ball to test. add a little flour if the ball falls apart. fry 4-6 balls at once for a couple of minutes on each side, or until golden brown.


hummus adapted from "a year in my kitchen" by skye gyngell

3 cups cooked chick peas, drained
3-4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 large green or red chili pepper, depending on your preference (i like jalapeño in this)
1 bunch coriander/cilantro, chopped
1 bunch mint, leaves only
1/2 bunch flat leafed parsley, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 heaping tablespoonful of tahini

1 teaspoonful roasted spice mix (see beetroot purée recipe)
50 ml olive oil
salt and pepper* to taste

dump everything into a food processor or blender, process until relatively smooth (a few chunks are nice). adjust seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste.