Falafel with Tahini Sauce

Falafel with Tahini Sauce

Preparing to make falafel.
Trying it two ways, my
mother in law ground it in
 a meat grinder with fava
 and garbanzo beans .
Chef Kamal Al Fakih makes
them in a food processor with
just garbanzo beans. 
You can also get skinless fava
beans which cuts down on time
spent skinning by hand. The following recipe is adapted from Alice Fuleihan's recipe and Classic Lebanese Cuisine, by Chef Kamal Al Fakih






Ingredients

1 cup dried garbanzo beans
1 cup dried fava beans (try to get skinless)
1/4 cup cilantro coarsely chopped
1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley chopped
1 onion coarsely chopped
1/2 cup scallions chopped
2 cloves garlic
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoon raw sesame seeds (topping)
2 cups canola oil  for frying.

This makes 22 falafel

Garbanzo beans and fava beans soaking in water.

Directions

Begin two days ahead by soaking 1 cup
 garbanzo beans and 1 cup fava beans in
 8 cups of water. Add 1/2 teaspoon baking
 soda. Baking soda soften the beans.
Change the water daily.








Fava beans....... the white beans
have been skinned, the bowl in
the front shows fava beans before
removing the skins.
I skinned the beans after 24 hours,
the skin came off easily. Resumed soaking the skinless beans. I soaked  the beans for 36 hours, these can be soaked for 4 days.
To prepare the falafel, drain the beans,
rinse in water and then lay out on a paper towel in a single layer, pat dry really well. Too much moisture results
in the patties not holding together very well.

Grind the beans with the onion in a meat grinder on a coarse grind. Make sure you
pat dry the parsley, scallions, and cilantro with a paper towel and then add these to the bean mixture along with the finely chopped garlic cloves. Mix thoroughly. Put through the meat grinder a second time. Add the salt, spices, 3 tablespoons flour and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.
Mix thoroughly.
Pass through the meat grinder a third time. Test to see if the patties hold together. Add a little flour if they seem too wet.

Using 2 tablespoon portions, form the mixture into dome shaped patties. I used a mold for making marmoul (date cookies)
Place the patties on a baking sheet covered with plastic wrap.
Press a few of the sesame seeds on top with your finger (do not used toasted sesame, make sure they are raw. Raw sesame seeds stick, toasted do not)

Next put the falafel still sitting on the baking sheets uncovered in the freezer. Once they are frozen you can stack in a covered container
and leave in freezer. When you need them, do not thaw, just fry the patties straight out of the freezer.
I made the falafel the day before serving,
left them in the freezer and removed them just before frying.

Heat the oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, have the oil about 1 inch thick. Fry three at a time. Remove when they are golden brown with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Try to keep the oil at 375 degrees so that the patties fry evenly. A candy thermometer is helpful)

Tahini Sauce (Chef Kamal Al-Fakih)

Ingredients
1 large clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup tahini (mix well before using)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup water
parsley chopped (just use the leaves and tender stems)

Directions
Finely chop the garlic and mash the garlic and salt to a pulp using a pestle.
Add the tahini, lemon juice and water. Whisk until smooth and creamy. It should be like pancake batter.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley.


I also tried the recipe in Classic Lebanese Cuisine by Chef Kamal Al-Fakih). He does not use fava beans and uses a food processor instead of a meat grinder. The falafel were very light and airy.  The taste testers were mixed, there seemed to be a preference for the meat grinder version. But the consensus in the end was make them both ways, they are equally good.
Serve with pita bread, chopped tomatoes, tahini sauce (or hummus), pickled beetroot and pickled turnips.
(Pickled Beetroot posted 4/18/14)
(Pickled Turnips posted  1/4/12)

Avocado Pear with Balsamic Dressing

Ingredients

1 Hess Avocado
1 teaspoon  Grey Poupon Mustard
1 teaspoon Sugar
Salt and Pepper
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
Juice of 1 Lemon

Directions

With a sharp knife, slice just the skin of the avocado from the top where the stem was, straight down to the bottom of the avocado.










Then peel off the skin leaving the avocado flesh still intact.

With a knife, slice off the flesh in 2 inch chunks, leaving the stone and discard. Place the avocado chunks in a bowl.

For the dressing, start with 1 teaspoon Grey Poupon Mustard in a bowl, mix in 1 teaspoon sugar, next add 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, stir well, add 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and the juice of 1 lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Taste and adjust, adding more lemon juice or vinegar if it seems to oily.

Pour the dressing over the avocado and eat!

Beet Greens

Ingredients
2 bunches beet greens, stems removed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or to taste
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 lemons quartered

Directions
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil Add the beet greens and cooks uncovered until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander, then immediately immerse in ice water for several minutes until cold to stop the cooking process. Once the greens are cold, drain well, and coarsely chop. You can do this step ahead of time and store in the refrigerator till later in the day.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the greens until oil and garlic is evenly distributed. Season with salt and pepper. Cook just until greens are hot. Serve with lemon wedges.

Fetie (lamb meat with pine nuts, almonds, rice, yoghurt and toasted pita bread)

Fetie (Lamb Meat with rice, yoghurt, pine nuts, almonds and toasted pita bread)

This is a dish you can prepare beforehand, the combination is out of this world and you never have leftovers! My sister in law, Portia makes this perfectly, she says the secret to this dish is using a LOT of spices, more than you think you need. The first time I made it, it was quite bland, David remembered it having a lemony tang to it so I added some lemon juice and a LOT more spices to the left overs and it tasted far better!

Ingredients

2 loaves pita bread
2 1/2 cups cooked rice
2 lbs Lamb Meat(lean lamb from the
leg or lamb shanks)
(you can use chicken breasts
or 2 lbs lean top round London broil beef instead)
5 cups Greek Yoghurt
1/2 cup Pine nuts
1/2 cup Slivered Almonds
Salt
Pepper
Allspice
1 can Campbell's Beef Broth
1 tablepoon Tahini
2 cloves Garlic
2 Lemons squeezed


Directions

This dish is layered in a pyrex dish starting with rice at the bottom and ending with toasted pita bread on the top, the bread tends to become soggy if placed on the bottom layer.

                                                    Toasted Pita Bread
                                       Pine Nuts and Slivered Almonds
                                                     Yoghurt Mixture
                                                              Meat
                                                              Rice
                                 _________________________________

1 The first layer is rice. You need 2 1/2 cups cooked rice. Prepare rice with chicken broth.

The second layer is lamb meat (you can also use beef or chicken)You need approximately 3 lbs lamb meat. Cook the meat in a saucepan with 1 can beef broth and 1 cup water until very tender, add more water if needed. While simmering add 1 tablespoon salt,1 teaspoon pepper and 2 tablespoons allspice.

The third layer Greek Yoghurt. Make a mixture using  5 cups yoghurt, 2 large cloves garlic mashed,1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoons tahini. In a bowl mash the garlic and salt together using a pestle. Stir in the yoghurt and tahini. Refrigerate until needed.  Do not heat this until last minute, heat yoghurt very slowly as it can curdle, keep stirring. You can also just bring the yoghurt mixture to room temperature instead of heating.

4.Toast pine nuts and slivered almonds in oven or saute in olive oil. Keep a close watch to make sure they do not burn. To toast the nuts, place on a baking sheet lined with silver foil and bake in a preheat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for approximately 5 minutes until they are golden brown. Or saute in melted butter until golden brown. Set nuts aside.

The top layer is 2 loaves pita bread  toasted at a low temperature in the oven whole, do not separate the layers. Place bread on a baking sheet lined with silver foil. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden. Check for crispness. Break into pieces.
Set nuts aside 

Have everything prepared, the bread toasted, the pine nuts and almonds toasted or sauteed, the rice and the meat cooked,  both rice and meat can be reheated before serving. Squeeze the juice of two lemons over the rice.Just the yoghurt mixture has to be heated at last minute. Take an oblong pyrex dish and layer each ingredient.

Aunt Nan's Relish

Ingredients

12 large cucumbers not peeled and seeds removed
8 large onions
1 small cabbage
6 carrots
3 sweet red peppers
2 tablespoons salt
6 cups sugar
6 cups white vinegar
2 teaspoons celery seed
2 teaspoons mustard seed

Directions

Put 12 large cucumbers not peeled and seeds removed, 8 large onions,1 small cabbage, 6  carrots and 3 sweet red peppers through food grinder. Mix in 2 tablespoons salt. Let stand overnight. Drain in the morning.

The next morning, put the ground cucumbers, onions, cabbage, carrots and red peppers in a large pot.  Add 6 cups sugar, 6 cups white vinegar, 2 teaspoons celery seed, 2 teaspoons mustard seed and boil for 40 minutes.

Next mix in 3 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons ground tumeric, 2 tablespoons dry mustard and 1/2 cup cold white vinegar. Boil 5 minutes more.
Place in jar hot and seal.

Yields about 13 pints.

Marinade for Steak

Ingredients

1/4 olive oil
1/2 cup red wine
juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Directions

Mix all above ingredients together and put steaks in the marinade for at least 2 hours.

Either barbeque or saute steak.

Spaghetti Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes

Ingredients

15 Ripe Tomatoes
1 lb Ground Beef
1/2 Gianelli Sweet Sausage
2 Onions
3 sprigs Fresh Basil
2 sprigs Fresh Oregano
5 Stalks Parsley
1 Can Crushed Tomatoes
1 jar Classico Marinara Sauce
1 small can Tomato Paste
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Cayenne Pepper
1 tablespoon Olive Oil

Directions

Heat up a pot of water until the water is boiling. Drop  the tomatoes in the simmering water for 3 minutes, 5 at a time. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Repeat until all the tomatoes are done. Leave aside to cool.

Chop up 2 Spanish Onions and saute in 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

The tomatoes should be cooled down, with a knife, slit the skin gently around the outside of the tomato, then peel off the skin. Cut the tomato into chunks, discarding the hard part where the stem was. Place the chopped tomatoes in a large pot.
Add the sauteed onions.

Saute 1 lb ground beef until fully cooked. Add to pot.
Saute 1/2 Gianelli Sweet Sausage until fully cooked (break up the sausage as it’s cooking into small pieces)

Add to pot.
Take a large can of crushed tomatoes and pour into the pot.
Add 1 jar of Classico Marinara Sauce
I also add water to both the can and jar to get the left over sauce bits, and pour into the pot.

Stir all together, add 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, shake of cayenne, 2 sprigs fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano), 4 sprigs fresh parsley (or 1 tablespoon parsley flakes) 4 fresh basil sprigs, a shake of garlic powder, and stir the pot.
Bring to boil over low heat, simmer for at least 2 - 3 hours, stirring from time to time. Taste for seasonings, adjust according to your taste.
In the last half hour, add a small can tomato paste, and stir well to make sure there are no lumps of tomato paste in the sauce.

You will have a large amount, use what you need with pasta and freeze the rest in separate containers. This sauce freezes really well.