Falafel Hash Food

FALAFEL HASH

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large flat-sided skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic; cook and stir until softened, about 2 minutes. Add yam and cook for 2 minutes.
• Stir cumin, coriander, onion seeds, black mustard seeds, chile powder, paprika, and turmeric into the skillet; cook and stir until evenly distributed, about 2 minutes. Add cauliflower, chickpeas, salt, and black pepper; stir until combined.
• Mix vegetable stock and tomato paste together in a small bowl; pour into the skillet. Cover and cook until yam is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in spinach, parsley, lemon juice, and lime juice and cook until flavors combine, about 1 minute.

FALAFEL WITH TAHINI SAUCE

Steps:

• Drain and rinse both the fava beans as well as the chickpeas. Combine both beans in the bowl of a food processor, along with the onion, parsley, cilantro, garlic, cumin, baking soda, salt, ground coriander, and cayenne, and pulse, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until a coarse paste is formed. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water, if needed to make the paste hold together - you will have to remove the lid of the processor and check this by pressing some of the mixture together between your fingers. Add a bit more water, if necessary. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to rest for about 30 minutes.
• Preheat at least 3-inches of oil in a saucepan or a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.
• Scoop the fava-chick pea mixture into 1 1/2 to 2-tablespoon increments and, using your hands, shape into balls or patties about 1 1/2 to 2-inches in diameter. Gently lower the falafel balls into the hot oil (these are fragile - do not drop them or they will fall apart.) Fry the falafel in batches until crisp and brown, turning to promote even browning, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer to paper-lined plates to drain briefly before serving with the Tahini Sauce and pita bread, if using.
• Make the sauce by combining the tahini paste, lemon juice, and garlic in a bowl and stirring to combine. Add the water a little at a time as needed to form a smooth, creamy sauce approximately the thickness of heavy cream. (Note that the sauce might appear to separate for a bit before enough water has been added; just keep adding more water bit by bit and stirring until the sauce comes together.) Season to taste with salt and more lemon juice, if necessary. Transfer to a nonreactive container and refrigerate until ready to serve the falafel.

FALAFEL

Steps:

• One day ahead: Pour the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover them by about 3 inches of cold water. Add 1/2 tsp of baking soda to the water and stir; this will help soften the chickpeas. Cover the bowl and let them soak overnight in a cool, dark place or in the refrigerator. The chickpeas should soak at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours, until tender (change soaking water for fresh water after 12 hours). They will double in size as they soak - you will have between 4 and 5 cups of beans after soaking.
• Drain and rinse the chickpeas well. Pour them into your food processor along with the chopped onion, garlic cloves, parsley, flour or chickpea flour (use chickpea flour to make gluten free), salt, cumin, ground coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom. Note: if you have a smaller food processor, you will want to divide the ingredients in half and process the mixture one batch at a time.
• Pulse all ingredients together until a rough, coarse meal forms. Scrape the sides of the processor periodically and push the mixture down the sides. Process until the mixture is somewhere between the texture of couscous and a paste. You want the mixture to hold together, and a more paste-like consistency will help with that... but don't over-process, you don't want it turning into hummus!
• Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, pour it out into a bowl and use a fork to stir; this will make the texture more even throughout. Remove any large chickpea chunks that the processor missed.Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.Fill a skillet with vegetable oil to a depth of 1 ½ inches. I prefer to use cooking oil with a high smoke point, like grapeseed. Heat the oil slowly over medium heat. The ideal temperature to fry falafel is between 360 and 375 degrees F; the best way to monitor the temperature is to use a deep fry or candy thermometer. After making these a few times, you will start to get a feel for when the oil temperature is "right."Meanwhile, form falafel mixture into round balls or slider-shaped patties using wet hands or a falafel scoop. I usually use about 2 tbsp of mixture per falafel. You can make them smaller or larger depending on your personal preference. The balls will stick together loosely at first, but will bind nicely once they begin to fry.
• If the balls won't hold together, place the mixture back in the processor again and continue processing to make it more paste-like. Keep in mind that the balls will be delicate at first; if you can get them into the hot oil, they will bind together and stick. If they still won't hold together, you can try adding 2-3 tbsp of flour or chickpea flour to the mixture. If they still won't hold, add 1-2 eggs to the mix. This should fix any issues you are having.Before frying my first batch of falafel, I like to fry a test one in the center of the pan. If the oil is at the right temperature, it will take 2-3 minutes per side to brown (5-6 minutes total). If it browns faster than that, your oil is too hot and your falafels will not be fully cooked in the center. Cool the oil down slightly and try again.
• When the oil is at the right temperature, fry the falafels in batches of 5-6 at a time until golden brown on both sides.
• Once the falafels are fried, remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon.
• Let them drain on paper towels. Serve the falafels fresh and hot; they go best with a plate of hummus and topped with creamy tahini sauce. You can also stuff them into a pita.
• SESAME FALAFEL VARIATION: After forming the balls or patties, dip them in sesame seeds prior to frying. This will make the falafel coating crunchier and give it a slightly nutty flavor.
• HERB FALAFEL VARIATION (GREEN FALAFEL): Add ½ cup additional chopped green parsley, or cilantro, or a mixture of the two prior to blending.
• TURMERIC FALAFEL (YELLOW FALAFEL): Add ¾ tsp turmeric to the food processor prior to blending.
• HOW TO MAKE A FALAFEL PITA: Making a falafel pita is actually really simple. The two main ingredients are pita bread and falafel. Cut the pita bread in half to form two "pockets." Each pocket is a serving size. Stuff the pocket with falafel, as well as any add-ons you fancy.Here are some traditional add-ons that can be added to your pita: tahini sauce, shredded lettuce, diced or sliced tomatoes, Israeli salad, onions, dill pickles, hummus, tabouli, french fries
• Here are some less traditional add-ons that are also tasty: sprouts, cucumber slices, roasted peppers, roasted eggplant slices, sunflower seeds, feta cheese, yogurt, tzatziki.

FALAFEL HASH AND BABA GANOUSH DIP

Steps:

• Preheat the grill to its highest setting and line a baking tray with foil. Slice 2 garlic cloves in half lengthways. Make a deep slit in the side of each aubergine and pus two halves of garlic into each one. Place them on the tray and drizzle with 1tbsp of the oil and place under grill for 20mins. Turn the hallway through. Cook until soft and lightly scorched.
• Cool, and slice off stalk. Slice each aubergine open and scoop out the flesh and garlic onto a chopping board. Discard the skin. Top the aubergine with tahini, juice from half the lemon, 2tbsp of the oil and season generously. Chop all the ingredients together to make a paste. Season to taste again, then transfer to a dish and top with a little more oil.
• Place the chickpeas in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5mins then drain and cool.
• Heat the remaining 3tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and add red onion over a high heat. Fry for 3mins until starting to soften. Chop the last garlic clove and add to the pan. Fry for 3-4mins until onion is soft. Add chickpeas and carrots, stir and fry for 1min. Mash the chickpeas until half are crushed using a fork or potato masher. Remove from the heat and stir through remaining lemon juice and coriander. Season to taste. Serve the hash with the aubergine dip, warmed pittas, olives with feta, hot chilli sauce and lemon wedges.