Baked Falafel

Posted by AmandaCMcNeil

Oh, falafel. I could sing its praises for a long time. It is tasty, vegetarian and often times vegan, portable, and really easy to make! I fell in love with falafel when I lived in Israel, since it is the primary fast food in the Middle East – move over, McDonald’s. Falafel is traditionally deep fried and accompanied by hummus and tahina sauce. In Israel, it is served in a pita pocket, making it an easily transportable, quick lunch.

If you plan on frying the falafel (which is easily done on the stovetop with olive oil) it is better to use dry chickpeas and soak them for 2 hours, up to overnight. Canned chickpeas are too soft and tend to fall apart during the frying process. Since this recipe is baking the falafel, either canned or soaked chickpeas may be used.

I have tried several different falafel recipes, but I found one from a fellow foodie who spent some time in Israel, and I thought her recipe was so close to authentic! I made a few changes, and came up with this healthy version of the tasty falafel.

Baked Falafel

adapted from theshiksa.com

makes 12 falafel discs, serves 3-4

1C chickpeas, rinsed

1 small onion

1/2C spinach leaves

1/2C parsley leaves

3 garlic cloves

1T flour (I used spelt to keep these gluten free)

1t salt

1t cumin

1/2t ground coriander

1 pinch of cayenne

1 pinch of ground cardamom

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2t baking powder (to help them rise with the lack of gluten)

For falafel sandwiches:

Pitas

Hummus

Tahina Sauce

Chopped tomato

Spinach or lettuce

Chopped cucumber

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Assemble all falafel ingredients in a food processor. Parsley:

Spinach & spices:

Baking Soda:

Roughly chopped onion:

Flour:

And Chickpeas:

Pulse until a course meal is formed. I personally don’t like my falafel to be the texture of baby food.

I used a cookie dough scooper -which to you might be a melon baller- to form the falafels on a baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes, then flip and bake 15 minutes on the other side. Due to the baking nature, the falafels will only be crispy on the sides that touch the pan. Though you could probably bake them and maintain a round shape, I chose to smash them and make them discs for ease.

Serve them hot with either hummus or tahina or both, or in a pita as a sandwich. I slathered my pita with hummus (see my recipe link above), stuffed it with falafel, spinach, tomato, and tahina sauce (recipe also above.) Or they’re delicious on their own, served with a traditional Israeli Salad. Yum!!

Here’s a picture that I took in Israel of a postcard. The recipe is pretty close!

Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Posted by AmandaCMcNeil

Ok. April is National Grilled Cheese Month?! This is why I was born in this month. Thanks, Mom! To celebrate, I made a killer lunch yesterday for me & my husband. I love simple grilled cheese, I even like wheat toast, vegan butter, and veggie cheese grilled cheese – it’s salty and delicious. But I wanted to make a fancy grilled cheese, you know. Cuz it’s National Grilled Cheese Month. It was so good I can’t even describe. The picture is nice, but you can’t see all the gooey goodness that’s inside. You’ll just have to make it. Today. Or at least before May 1st.

Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich

For 2

1/2 French loaf

4 oz. fresh Mozzarella

1 tomato

Pesto sauce

Olive oil for brushing

2T freshly grated Parmesan cheese optional

So simple and quick! Slice and shred the ingredients.

Assemble the sandwiches, using the pesto as the spread. I put pesto on both sides of the bread because it’s that good. This is also a good time to turn on your heating element. You could use a panini press, George Foreman grill, or the stove top with a steak weight.

Close the sandwiches and brush the tops with oil.

Then press the Parmesan onto the oiled bread. So yummy!

Repeat on the bottom sides, then they’re ready to cook! I used my monster of a George Foreman. I did spray it with a little olive oil just to make sure the sandwiches didn’t stick.

Keep an eye on them, though on a George Foreman it’s hard to burn a sandwich. I like mine nice and smashed with the gooey cheese running out the sides. Enjoy!

It’s even better with Herb Fries & Bistro Dip! I’ll post that next week!

Tabouli Wraps

Posted by AmandaCMcNeil

Tabouli. Tabouleh. Tabule. It is crazy how many spellings there are to this dish. There are equally as many various forms of ingredients. Feel free to add or subtract any of the veggies.

This is a Mediterranean classic and can be enjoyed on its own, or put in a wrap or sandwich. Speaking of Mediterranean…this is legit. One of my favorite seasons in life was when I was privileged to live in Israel my last semester of undergrad. This is the real deal folks. It’s healthy, light yet filling, vegan, and delicious! I wouldn’t steer you wrong!

Ok, so the recipe. You’ll need:

2 cups bulgur wheat

2 cups water

1 seedless cucumber (or you can take the seeds out yourself)

1 tomato, chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped (about 8 stalks)

1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped

2 cups fresh parsley, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1t pepper

2t salt, or to taste

And I used whole wheat wraps to wrap it all up!

Look at this beautiful spearmint plant! I bought this little guy from Whole Foods Market that day.

First, bring the water almost to a boil. Let it sit for about a minute to slightly cool, then add the bulgur to the water. It should sit about 30 minutes so all the water is completely absorbed.

Meanwhile, chop all your veggies and herbs, and combine together in a large salad bowl. (The cucumber went into fine bits after the picture was taken.)

To ensure the salt and pepper is distributed evenly, combine the last four ingredients in a separate bowl. Once the wheat is ready, add to the veggie-herb bowl. Add the liquid mixture and stir well. This lovely salad can be served chilled or at room temperature. This makes A LOT – about 12 servings, so scale it down if it’s a recipe for one or two people.