FALAFEL (Chick-pea Patties)

Falafel is sold on street corners in every city and town in Israel. Some call it the “Israeli hamburger.”

Makes about 24 falafel balls.

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. canned chick-peas (drained)
1 large onion, chopped
2 tbs. finely chopped parsley
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1/2 to 1 cup breadcrumbs or fine bulgur (crushed wheat)
1 tsp. ground coriander or cumin
1 tsp. dried hot peppers
1 tsp. garlic powder
vegetable oil (for frying)

STEPS:
•Combine chick-peas with onion.

•Add parsley, lightly beaten egg and spices. Mix in blender.

•Add breadcrumbs until mixture forms a small ball without sticking to your hands.

•Form chick-pea mixture into small balls about the size of a quarter (one inch in diameter).

•Flatten patties slightly and fry until golden brown on both sides.

•Drain falafel balls on paper towels. Serve individually with toothpicks as an hors d’oeuvre or as a sandwich filling with chopped tomato, cucumber, radish, lettuce, onion, hummus and/or tehina inside pita bread.

Hummus

This is a simple recipe for hummus that does not call for Tahini.

Makes: enough for two people to share.

INGREDIENTS:
1 can of garbanzo beans
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
juice from ½ lemon
½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
handful of chopped fresh parsley
paprika to taste (optional)

STEPS:
•Drain bean juice from garbanzo beans.

•Process garlic clove in a food processor until it looks finely chopped.

•Add the can of garbanzo beans to the garlic clove in the food processor along with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt.

•Process until the garbanzo beans are pureed to the consistency you want. For a smoother consistency, puree longer, and add (a little at a time) more lemon juice and/or olive oil.

•Add parsley at the end and pulse until parsley is just chopped, salt (if necessary) and paprika to taste.

•Garnish with a drizzle of oilve oil, additional paprika, and serve with toasted pita wedges.

Laffa Recipe

7 cups bread flour
one package dry yeast
3 cups water
2 tablespoons sugar (a bit more may be added if desired)
1 teaspoon salt (again, a bit more may be added for a saltier bread, but don’t overdo it!)
4 tablespoons olive oil (I use the mild kind, but any will do).

Mix the yeast with the flour. Add water, sugar, salt and olive oil and knead for about 10 minutes, until dough is smooth, shiny, and slightly sticky. Add flour if needed (too wet) or water (if too dry).

Transfer dough to a large greased (I use olive oil) bowl (in truth, I just knead the dough in a giant bowl to begin with and when I’m done, I take out the dough, grease the giant bowl, and return the dough to the bowl). Generously rub top and sides with olive oil. Allow dough to rise to double its size.

Divide dough into 12 equal pieces (you may get one or two more, and that’s fine). Roll each piece into a ball, place on a floured surface, cover with a damp towel (I just wet and use a paper towel) and allow to rest for ten minutes. Roll out each piece into a 12-14 inch round.

Now, there are two ways of baking:

Method 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. place rounds on a cookie sheet (covered with parchment paper) and bake for about ten minutes.

Method 2 (the one I use simply because I haven’t tried Method 1 yet):

This is easiest of you have an electric burner.

Turn burner on to a medium high heat. place a large pan or wok BOTTOMS UP over the burner and bake the laffa on the bottom of the pan (I happen to have a new pan I never used, so this worked well for me). Bake until bubbles form and bottom of the laffa begins to develop some brown spots. Flip and bake other side. Make sure the laffa is COMPLETELY flat, otherwise you’ll have unbaked edges. I use a spatula to flatten the bread when I turn it over.

Recently, I started using an 11″x11″ stovetop griddle (two, actually, over the large burners). I use a slightly lower heat. This method takes far less time and I think they come out even better than baking them on an upside-down pan.

Remove from over or pan (depending on what method you use) and place inside a towel (any kitchen towel will do. Let cool for about a minute, and then immediately transfer into a plastic bag and close it up! The moisture from the heat is what will make the laffa very pliable, moist, and yummy. Keep adding laffas to the bag.

Enjoy warm. You may freeze these. When you reheat, reheat IN the plastic bag so they stay moist.

Hope you have as much fun making these as I do!

P.S. To make these into pitas:

Follow steps UP to the part where you divide the dough:

Divide dough into TWENTY equal parts, roll into balls, place on floured surface, and cover with a damp towel. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Roll out each ball into a 10-12 inch round and about 1/4 inch thick. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes, just until the pitas swell up and begin to show golden spots. Avoid over-baking if you don’t want to end up with giant pita chips.

Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Cover pitas with a kitchen towel for a few minutes to keep them soft. Enjoy!

Recipe for Shakshuka

Source – NY Times?

SERVES 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon jalapeno, minced and seeded (or more to taste)
2 red peppers or green peppers, roughly chopped
8 fresh plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 (28 ounce) cans Italian plum tomatoes, strained (peeled)
1/2 teaspoon hot paprika or cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, more to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup canned tomato juice
1/2 cup vegetable broth
4 large eggs
za’atar spice mix, for serving
4 pita breads, warmed

Directions

Step 1
Place large saute pan over medium heat, add and heat oil. Add onion and saute until lightly browned.

Step 2
Add garlic, jalapeno and bell peppers, and saute 2 minutes more.

Step 3
Add fresh and canned tomatoes, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 4
Add hot and sweet paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper and sugar. Stir for 1 minute.

Step 5
Add tomato juice and vegetable broth and bring to a full boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until mixture is very thick and has little liquid left, about 1 hour; stir occasionally to make sure vegetables do not stick to bottom of pan, and add more tomato juice or vegetable broth as needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Step 6
Gently crack eggs into pan, taking care not to break yolks. Simmer until whites solidify but yolks remain runny, about 8 minutes, or as per personal preference (I would put this under the broiler for a couple more minutes because I hate undercooked eggs).

Step 7
Ladle equal portions of vegetables and eggs into 4 serving bowls. Sprinkle with zaatar to taste, and serve with warm pita bread.