Felafel and Hummus Pitas with Greek Salad

As I believe I've mentioned before, felafel makes me very happy. Tonight I decided to try making some for the first time. How hard could it be? Luckily, it's not very hard at all! And it's awesome! We couldn't have lonely felafel balls all by themselves, of course, so I made some hummus and a greek salad to round things out. Recipes for all three dishes after the jump.



Felafel
*adapted from Joan Nathan's recipe

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 onion, chopped
2 heaping tbl fresh italian parsley, finely chopped
2 heaping tbl fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
dash ground cayenne pepper
2-3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tsp baking powder
4-6 tbl flour
vegetable oil for frying
pita bread for serving

Note: the felafel mixture needs to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour (the original recipe says "several hours") and frying takes about 30 min. to cook all the balls in several batches.

Step One: Place drained, rinsed chickpeas; onion; parsley; cilantro; salt; cayenne pepper; and garlic in a food processor. Process until blended, but don't over-process (you don't want it to be soupy).

Step Two: Add baking powder and 4 tbl of flour of mixture and pulse until the mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. You should be able to form balls with your hands. If it's sticky, add more flour. I ultimately wound up using a bit over 6 tbls.

Step Three: Place mixture in bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour--more is probably better.

Step Four: Heat a couple inches of vegetable oil in a pan over med heat (or you could use a cornballer instead, obv) and fry a test ball to make sure it holds together. My test ball, ahem, did not hold together. If this happens to you too, add more flour and make sure the oil is hot enough to produce big bubbles when you drop stuff in it. Once the test ball works out, shape the rest of the mixture into felafel-sized balls (a bit less than a tbl) and fry for 2-3 min. a side in batches.

It was at this point that LCBF intervened in my felafel-making experiment and took over because frying is "manly" and makes him happy. I didn't mind, as I find frying to be a little tedious.

Step Five: Drain on paper towels and serve with pita bread, hummus, greek salad, etc.

This was some tasty felafel, I must say. LCBF liked the fact that it was fried. I liked how herb-y the taste was--the cilantro really stood out. It was especially good with . . .
  
Hummus

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
~1/4 c. tahini
~1/4 c. olive oil
juice from 1-2 lemons
1-2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
salt & pepper
~ 1/4 c. water (use as needed to thin mixture)

Add all ingredients except the water to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Taste and make adjustments as necessary. Slowly add water as needed to achieve the desired consistency.

Hummus is a "to taste"-type of recipe. I like a lot of lemon, but I tend to go easy on the garlic. Tahini (sesame paste) adds an "earthy" flavor and I don't always use it (tastes fine without). I like the tahini flavor when I'm eating it with felafel though--it stands up a bit better in that combination, but it can be a little overpowering when just serving hummus as a dip.

Greek Salad

2 cucumbers, partially peeled and coarsely chopped
2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
~1/4 c. fresh scallions, sliced thinly
~1/2 c. fresh mint, chopped
1/4-1/2 c. greek olives, sliced length-wise
juice from 1/2-1 lemon
1/8-1/4 c. olive oil
salt & pepper
feta cheese

Mix cucumbers, tomatoes, scallions, mint, and olives in a large serving bowl. Combine lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper (to taste) in a separate dish to make the dressing. Dress salad before serving and top with feta cheese. Serve on the side or add to felafel hummus pitas.