Sunday 14 July 2013

Yotam Ottolenghi's Falafels ( & Salad)

One of my favourite  food TV shows on recently was Ottolenghi's Mediterranean Feast. If you don't know who Yotam Ottolenghi is, he is basically the guru of all things salads/baking/middle eastern/Israeli/vegetarian, born in Israel but based in London. I love his take on simple, authentic flavours, and his food always looks amazing too. Going to an Ottolenghi restaurant in London is on my bucket list, and I have had a couple of his books for a while now. Anyway, you should check him out here, or read his column for the Guardian.

Lester and I love falafels, and have them at least once a fortnight - from the tubs of mixture in the supermarket - so it wasn't hard to pick Yotam's Falafels as the first recipe I made from my new cookbook Jerusalem.


Ottolenghi's Falafels

serves 4, adapted from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sam Maimi

Note: The flavours here are quite traditional, but subtle - the taste of the chickpeas shines through - but if you like a stronger spicey flavour, I would double the cayenne, cumin, coriander and  cardamom amounts below, or have a play around to your taste.


250g dried chickpeas
1/2 medium onion
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp flat leaf parsley
2 tbsp coriander
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tbsp plain flour
about 750ml sunflower oil/rice bran oil for deep-frying
1/2 tsp sesame seeds for coating
salt
1. Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with cold water at least twice their volume. Set aside to soak overnight.
2. The next day drain the chickpeas. Chuck in a food processor with the onion, garlic,  lemon, parsley and coriander. Blitz on the finest setting in a food processor until finely chopped, but not mushy or pasty
3. Once processed add the spices, baking powder, 3/4 tsp of salt, flour and 1 tbsp of water, mix well by hand. Cover the mixture and leave in the fridge for an hour or until ready to use.
4. Fill a deep pan with enough oil to cover the falafel and heat to 180 degrees (use a thermometer, or test on a piece of bread).
5. With wet hands, press 1-2 tbsp of mixture into the palm of your hand and make a small ball, pressing together well to prevent them breaking apart. Roll lightly in sesame seeds and deep fry them in batches for 4 minutes or until well browned (Yotam note's it is important they are in the oil long enough to cook the chickpeas and dry out the centre).
6. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Serve in a Pita with salad and hummus, or as part of the salad below.
I cooked half the mixture, and froze the rest for another day.

Mediterranean Falafel Salad

Serves 2

Kalamata Olives
Feta cheese
Strips of roasted red pepper
Roasted almonds (toast in a pan on medium heat with a little coconut oil)
1 Pita bread, toasted, torn into pieces and drizzled with Olive oil
1/4 Cucumber, cut into chunks
Baby spinach
Flat leaf parsley
Dressing:
4 heaped tablespoons greek yoghurt
small handful chopped mint
1 tsp Tahini paste
1 tsp Pomegranate Molasses
Juice of half a lemon
Water, if needed to thin down
Salt & Pepper
Sweet Chilli Sauce

Arrange all salad ingredients on plates or a platter, top with freshly cooked Falafels (approx. 5 per person), drizzle with Yoghurt dressing and chilli sauce and serve.









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