Falafel recipe

It’s very easy to make falafel. You should try that.

Falafel - as oppose to hummus (recipe) – is very easy to make, and with a little effort is needed so it would come out great. In case you don’t know what it is – falafel is the second most popular chick pea (garbanzo been) dish. A small, crunchy, chick pea burger which tastes delicious.

Of course, you can always use instant powders like the ones usually shown below:

This recipe that I’m going to share with you, is for Arabic falafel, which is very different from the Turkish falafel that you can find in some European cities (I ate some in Berlin). I think it’s much better.

The Turkish falafel is served in a toasted bread, with some salads and spicy sauces. In Israel, as well as most of the Arab countries, we eat the falafel inside a pita bread, with vegetable salad, pickles, French fries and Tahini. You should try that.

The Ingredients:

(25 falafel balls)
2 cups of dries chickpeas, soaked in water for 12 hours
Crumbs from 2 slices of white bread
5 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped coriander
1/2 small onion
1 spoon of sesame seeds
1 teaspoon cumin spice
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt, pepper
Oil for deep frying

Preparation:

1. Wash the soaked chickpeas and put them in a food processor with the garlic, onion and spices. Grind until you get a rough moist texture. Add a little water if needed.
2. Move the mixture into a large bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and put aside, covered, for 30-60 minutes.
3. Warm the oil – it should be hot, not boiling. Add the baking soda to the mixture and knead a little.
4. Wet your hands and shape little balls (smaller then apricots). Fry until you get a deep brown shade. Serve hot!

Kosheri

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup(s) uncooked brown or white rice.
2/3 lbs.lentils
1 1/3 Tablespoon(s) vegetable oil, divided.
2/3 Tablespoon crushed garlic.
1 1/3 can(s) of tomato sauce.(16-ounce)
1/3 cup(s) water.
1/6 cup(s) vinegar.
2/3 medium onion.

Preperation:

Cook rice according to directions. Rinse lentils and put them in a pot, covering
them with water and bring to a boil. Then simmer on a low heat until almost all
water is absorbed and lentils are well cooked. Add extra water if longer time
is needed.

To make the sauce, first saut? the garlic in 1/2 of the oil until golden.
Add all of the tomato sauce and simmer 10-15 minutes.
Add water and vinegar and bring to a boil.
Remove from heat immediately and add salt to taste.

Finally, slice onion in thin, small pieces and saut? in the remaining half of the oil
until brown and crispy.

Shakshouka

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced small
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 (28-ounce) can chunky crushed tomatoes (or “chef’s cut”)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup water
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 - 8 eggs

Preperation:

1) Heat the olive oil in a large high-sided sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sweat them for about 5 minutes, until they soften a little.
2) Add the tomatoes, cumin, coriander, paprika, oregano and water. Stir to combine and then season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.
3) Uncover the pan and crack the eggs into the simmering sauce one at a time, spaced a few inches from each other. Cover the pan again and continue to simmer about five minutes (soft yolk), or until the egg whites are cooked and the yolk is set to your liking.
4) Ladle the sauce and eggs into shallow bowls and serve with thick toasted bread for sopping up the sauce and egg yolk.
(Alternatively, if you are preparing up to 8 eggs and your pan isn’t wide enough to accommodate all of the eggs at once, poach them separately in water and add them to the sauce to serve.)

Serves : 2 to 4

Moroccan Lemon & Cumin Chicken

Ingredients:

- 2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
- 1 medium onion
- 5 spring onions
- chopped garlic
- mushrooms, chopped
- broccoli, chopped
- green olives
- a handfull of sultanas (or raisens)
- lemon juice
- olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- salt and pepper
- 300ml chicken stock

Cooking Method:

- In a large saucepan heat the olive oil, fry the onion, spring onions and garlic. Add the chicken and cook for a few minutes.
- Add the saffron, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, salt and pepper and keep stirring.
- Add the lemon juice.
- Then add the broccoli and mushrooms and the chicken stock and sultanas.
- Cover and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Add water if it looks dry. Add the green olives 3 minutes before removing the pan from the heat. You should end up with nice tender chicken in a lemon/cumin juice.
- Serve with rice or couscous.

homemade beef

Ingredients:

- 400g lean beef mince
- 1 onion chopped finely
- a handful of fresh parsely (from my garden :o)
- salt and pepper
- basil (you can use mixed herbs)
- garlic powder
- tomato puree
- mushrooms

Cooking Method:

1- Mix all the above ingredients in a large bowl.
2- Then shape the burgers using your hands (you can make them any size you like, I chose to make smaller ones to fit into the mini bread buns I had).
3- Fry for 10-15 minutes in a mixture of olive oil and sunflower oil, until cooked on the inside as well as the outside (keep the heat low so you don't burn them).
4- I then fried some mushrooms too.
5- Serve the burgers in buns with sauces and salad of your choice
6- For a healthier meal, I chose to serve them with spaghetti rather than chips :o)
7- HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!