October 2008 Recipe

Ok, this is a recipe I found in a mom's magazine recently, and I just love it... I've always wanted to learn how to make Falafel, and when I saw this, I tore it out and had to try it. And surprisingly - I cooked and it came out really yummy (surprising because of my cooking skills and impatience with it).

Falafel Directions:
(2) tablespoons of olive oil into skillet for Sauteing (1/2) chopped red onion and (1 Tbsp) minced garlic in the pan (until soft - like 5 minutes).

Drain (2) 15oz cans of Chickpeas and add that with the sauteed onion & garlic into food processor. Add (1) tsp of ground cumin, (1) tsp ground coriander, some chopped cilantro or mint depending on how strong you want it - I would say about 1/4 cup - loose. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pulse in food processor, and add a bit more olive oil to moisturize it a bit more.

*If you want to make Hummus at this point, add water and oil (and lemon juice?) to thin it out. For Falafel though, you want it thicker.

When mixed enough in the food processor, remove the bowl and form the ingredients into balls (should make around 12 - 16) and flatten (think medium size meatballs). Put some more olive oil into sautee pan again and sautee these flattened balls up until they are golden brown (it takes like 5 minutes on each side).

They may fall apart if too dry or too wet for that matter... it is messy - but yummy. I loved eating this with fresh tomatos and cucumbers from the garden (ok - not my garden, but someone's...). Also, I put the falael's on a papertowl after cooking to try to absorb some of the extra oil from cooking...

I also found another mom's magazine that has some great articles if you like this one:
http://wondertime.go.com/life-at-home/article/dips-for-dinner.html

I hope you enjoy! If you have a related recipe, post it as a comment!!! I'll post something new for November when I find another something new to try out...