Falafel with Lemon Tahini

Crisp yet substantial falafel is a pleasure to make at home, so long as you do not have an aversion to deep frying/don’t mind knowing that falafel is cooked in copious amounts of oil. You can experiment with whether you prefer chickpeas, fava beans or both, more garlic or less. Like many Middle Eastern recipes you can adjust it within limits to suit your preferences. In Egypt you will find mostly fava bean falafel, while in Syria, mostly chickpea/garbanzo bean falafel, however in both of these countries and throughout the Middle East you can find combinations of the two.

Total time: About 1 hour

Ingredients:

Falafel:

4 cups of garbanzo and/or fava beans reconstituted with water or canned

1 large onion cut into 4 sections or diced if not using food processor

8 cloves of garlic

1 bunch of parsley trimmed

1 1/2 tbs salt

1/2 -1 cup of flour

6 cups of canola oil (do not use olive oil, this is not healthy as it has a low smoking point)

Heat a large pot like a wok. When hot add oil. Combine onion, garlic, parsley and salt and combine in food processor. Add mixture to beans and combine with hands until smooth. Add enough flour so that firm balls can be formed, not dry so that they crack and not too wet so that they fall apart. When oil is very hot test a small amount of mixture. If oil sizzles, add four balls at a time. Cook for about 3 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels. Serve with lemon tahini, fresh cucumber slices, Middle Eastern or Italian pickles and hot pita bread.

Lemon Tahini Sauce

1/4 cup tahini

4 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 cup of lemon juice

1/2 tbs salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Chanterelle Penne

Chanterelle mushrooms are precious and should be shared with someone you love, which could be yourself, your partner, your mother, your child, a friend. Certainly an exquisite meal for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion.

These are one of the fruitier mushrooms, reminiscent of apricots in summer while retaining their earthy mushroomness.

Time from start to finish: About two hours

Ingredients:

10-20 dried Chanterelle mushrooms (1 normal size package) unless you have fresh ones (if so, proceed as usual but use water in place of soaking liquid)

2 cups of water for soaking (do not throw soaking water away!)

Enough penne for two, about 1/3 of a normal box

1 white onion diced

1 1/2  cups of water or broth (if using broth omit the salt)

3/4 tbs salt or to taste

2 tbs canola oil

1 tbs cornstarch disolved in 1/4 cup of water

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Freshly ground black pepper to garnish

Soak mushrooms for 30 minutes to 1 hour in enough water to cover, about 2 cups. Do not throw water away! We will use this. Drain mushrooms through a fine strainer into a large bowl to catch the precious golden brown liquid. Pat mushrooms dry, gently but thoroughly. Heat a large pot on medium heat and when hot add oil. Then add onion and sautee until soft and golden yellow. Then add mushrooms and continue to sautee for another 2 minutes. Now add the liquid from the mushroom soaking. Turn heat to just above low and simmer without lid for about 45 minutes. At some point add the extra 1 1/2 cups of water or broth, about half way through. If you are using water add the salt, if broth, omit this step. Continue the simmer. Now is a good time to start boiling the water for the penne, just cook al dente, do not overcook, drain, and add 1 tsp of olive oil and cover in pot. When 45 minutes are up, add cornstarch and water and stir until well thickened. Serve chanterelle sauce over penne and garnish with finely chopped parsley and fresh black pepper.

 

Mongolian Wild Rice

Mongolian Beef is a wonderful invention of the Chinese-American kitchen. There is nothing Mongolian about either the original or my version, but this is the moniker it goes by nonetheless. I have made it less Chinese-American by removing the beef, reducing the oil, and using wild rice. The scallion and onion liven up the earthy wild rice which in turn mellows the alliums.

Ingredients:

6 cups of cooked wild rice

1 large white onion thinly sliced

1-2 bunches of scallions chopped into two inch sections (make sure they are dry)

1 tsp canola oil

2 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs salt

1/2 tbs sugar

5 cloves of minced garlic

2 tbs minced ginger

Heat a wok or large pan. When hot, add oil and then onion, cooking on high for about 3 minutes. Add scallion, garlic and ginger, cook for 1 minute. Add salt, sugar and soy sauce and cook for another minute. Add rice and cook for 2 more minutes. Serve hot.