falafel

On a stormy Sunday not so long ago everyone gathered at Duncan and Dave’s to watch the Paris-Roubaix live broadcast, and we decided that to keep our energy supplies up for the 2am finish (being as we are, quite on the other side of the world from either Paris or Roubaix), a FEAST was in order.

Duncs and I discussed catering options, and a middle easterny Feast was decided on. I was particularly slack/hungry and did not take any photos of the actual Feast, so to set the scene only: the table consisted of grilled skewers of chicken and lamb, flatbreads, fattoush, taboulli, hummus, yogurt garlic sauce and these falafels.

I made and fried (and photographed) the falafel at home, and we reheated them at the boys’ place after the bbq-ing and salad composition had taken place. They were definitely more delicious freshly cooked - very crunchy with a tender inside - but reheating wasn’t a bad compromise given the convenience. I want to make them again where they will be the main event - maybe falafel burgers? The Feast is great, but since there were a good 8 of us preparing different components of said Feast, it’s kinda not a quick weeknight option! (and I can only recommend finishing a meal with ice cream topped with crumbled baklava and chopped almonds if you are actively trying to disintegrate all your teeth. Pure. Sugar).

The recipe was adapted from memories of making it in my teens, some internet sleuthing and my general assertive “this is how I think it should be done” attitude. I cannot attest to it having any middle eastern “authenticity”, but WTF does that mean anyway? since when was any cooking “Authentic”? It’s tasty. End Rant.

Falafel

Soak some (I used maybe 600g?) dried chickpeas in water overnight. Drain, rinse and then blitz in a food processor until it starts becoming crumby. Chuck in a good few tablespoons of cumin powder, some coriander powder, paprika and maybe a wee pinch of cayenne. Add a big handful of fresh parsley stems and all, and another of coriander, same deal. Continue to blitz.. if the ‘hummus’ is too dry and not coming together as a paste, add some water, a little at a time, until you have a very thick pasty mixture.

I formed it into the shape you see above by molding/rolling firmly with 2 spoons…called a quenelle, and hard to explain (but here is a low quality demo on you tube! horray for you tube!).

heat vegetable oil in a pan and shallow or deep fry your falafel in batches. Keep the oil temp medium, so your falafels are cooked and tender all the way through without being too dark on the outside. you’ll need to do a few taste tests as you go (a sprinkle of salt and some yogurt sauce at this point is essential to, ummm, test how cooked they are).

And the complimentary hummus (dip) post is coming soon at some point! xxx

what the fetta did next (spinach and fetta linguine)

you know that marinated fetta I take to everything? you know, the one I gave my secret away and told you how easy and cheap it is to make?

I promised it was handy to always have a container marinating away in the fridge, and here is proof, in case you doubted me.

Linguine with Spinach and Marinated Fetta

cook pasta to al dente, drain and stir through a bunch of washed and chopped fresh english spinach, stalks and all (if using silverbeet, you’ll probably need to blanch/steam/saute it first as it’s quite a bit tougher, especially the white stalks), a good few spoonfuls of the marinated fetta including some oil/lemon/spice marinade.

Yep, that’s it. dinner in 11 minutes. It’s pre-seasoned: spices and lemon, saltiness from fetta, and the fetta melts a bit on the hot pasta and combines with its marinade to make a lush but light sauce coating the pasta. If you wanna get fancy add some toasted pinenuts or even some grilled chicken or fish for added proteins.

Or just eat it. the only problem is having any marinated fetta last long enough to make it to the pasta. Better make a double batch.

g’day Dhal!

When I first arrived in Australia - NINE YEARS ago last Saturday! - I spent time in the lovely, sometimes sleepy, somewhat provincial Port Stephens (a small coastal resort towns north of Sydney). When I went to the local bowling club and RSL for beers with mates, and in shops, my money was taken with a hearty “thanks Dhal!” by the lovely Aussie ladies (of all ages, I have had this from 9 to 90 year olds).

It took me months to work out that they were not in fact calling me “Doll” (which I did think was a little weird, but then many things seemed a little weird) but saying “Darl’ ” - the ubiquitous oz-abbreviation of Darling, of course. If you are Aussie you are now shaking your head and saying “der!”, if you are not Aussie, and would like to see just what I’m talking about, see The Castle.

Anyway, in commemoration of my 9th year in Australia (I’m naturalised, too!), here is some Dhal, with a heart shaped dollop of yogurt on top.

I was re-inspired about dhal when I chanced on Peter Singer cooking it on on Talking Heads, but I don’t usually add coconut cream, because I find pulses get creamy enough on their own, thank you.

and, I’m a ‘chuck it all in at once’ kind of girl, but, you know, feel free to follow Peter if you think his version is better, but here’s mine:

In a pot or deep frying pan saute a chopped onion and several crushed/chopped garlic cloves in a little oil over a medium heat. Add spices - ground cumin, a little cinnamon, a couple of bay leaves, some panch phora. think Indian, earthy. Add red lentils, maybe 1 cup. Add quite a bit of water (maybe twice the measure of the lentils), to well cover the lentils. while that is coming up to temperature, roughly dice a few tomatoes and toss into the pan.

Stir, lower heat and keep an eye on it, as the lentils can dry out and goddamn, burnt lentils are hard to get off the bottom of the pot. add water as needed, they’ll take around 20 mins, and are ready when the lentils have melted into a sludge and the consistency is to your liking - add water or continue cooking to reach the level ’sloppyness’ you prefer - at which point you can add chopped spinach, chopped fresh coriander, as these don’t require more than a heating through. Serve as part of a curry smörgåsbord (yep, getting really transnational now!) or with rice, a splodge of yogurt, a sprinkling of coriander leaves and some flatbread. Or forget all those accompaniments, just get a bowlful of lentil hit, but the yogurt is still strongly recommended. This will provide 2 large main meal servings.

This is also a ridiculously cheap meal. A kilo of red lentils should set you back maybe $3-4 tops. you use maybe 20c worth of lentils for 2 people (admittedly I have not worked this out this is a blatant guesstimate), plus whatever an onion and some garlic cost, and you can buy the squishy on-sale tomatoes, as they’re being cooked down.

SO CHEAP!!!! I am also adding a new ‘cheap eats!!’ category to the puku, in honour of this 50c meal, and in the spirit of being a poor student/saving money for fun things. more *so cheap!!* meals to come! xxx