Easy Homemade Falafels

Falafel is a Middle Eastern ball of goodness made from mashed chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) and a combination of herbs and spices.  The best ones I have ever had were from Maoz in Barcelona, a popular chain that (I believe) originated in Spain. I have yet to find a yummy Falafel in San Diego.  I tried ones from Jimbos; they tasted like cardboard. I also bought some from a Middle Eastern cafe; they were stale by the time I arrived home. Huge disappointments on my falafel hunt!

Honestly, the Kraft commercial featuring Falafels reminded me of that crispy first bite followed by the soft and warm taste of chickpeas, cumin, garlic, and parsley.  I searched on Google for an easy recipe. Luckily, I found one that only takes about 15-20 minutes to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 Can of Garbanzo Beans, drained ($0.89 or $1.19 for Organic at Trader Joe’s)
• 2 Tablespoons of Garlic, minced (about 2 large cloves)
• 3/4 Teaspoon of Cumin, ground (available by bulk at Sprouts Farmer’s Market)
• 1 Teaspoon of Coriander (cilantro seed), ground. I used 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh cilantro instead.
• 2 Tablespoons of fresh Italian Parsley, finely chopped ($0.50 a bunch at Sprouts)
• 2 Tablespoons of Flour
• 1/4 cup of Canola or Vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

1. Prepare the herbs and spices and combine them with the Garbanzo beans in a large bowl. Mash them with a large fork until it becomes a paste.  You can also use a food processor, but it is totally unnecessary.
2. Once it’s a paste, pour in flour and mix well.
3. When it’s all mixed together, form them into 1-2 inch balls and smash them into about 1 inch thickness.
4. Heat oil just over medium heat in a frying pan or medium pot
5. Place about 5 falafels in the pan.  Fry each side for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Fork them out (without stabbing them) and  place on a plate to let them slightly cool. You’ll get about 12 – 15 Falafels.

Serve over Salad or enjoy them as a wrap.  I had mine with a salad, pita, and hummus. If I were fancier, I would call it a deconstructed Salad.

Homemade Falafels

The total cost is approximately $2.00, and  the parsley can be used for a Spanish Chicken, but that will be for next time.

This recipe was adapted from about.com.

Chinese Cucumber Salad

Cucumbers are refreshing.  I love them plain. I love them with Ranch Dressing.  I also enjoy a simple Chinese liang ban which means “cold mix” in its literal translation, or in Western food terminology: Chinese Cucumber Salad.

My grandma’s Chinese Cucumber Salad was mixed with thin glass noodles.  Her dressing had a touch of minced garlic, which I loved, but hated because of garlic breath.

So, here’s my version.  It’s super easy.

Dressing:

• 1 Tablespoon of Soy Sauce +/- (I used low sodium)
• A splash of Rice Vinegar
• A Dash of Sesame Oil and Yuzu (Japanese Lemon Juice concenrate, optional)
• A 1/2 Tablespoon +/- White Sugar
• A squeeze of Siracha

Mix it all and taste it.  Modify as you wish.

Prepare the cucumber with or without the skin.  My grandma would thinly slice them into rice noodle like pieces. To save time. I slice and quart.  Put the cucumber in the bowl and dress it!

This will take you less than 10 minutes, and it serves 2.

Pesto Bagel Melt

I heard bagels were created to help teething babies. In my world, bagels were created for my belly.  While traditional bagel and cream cheese is comforting, a Pesto Bagel Melt is even better. AND, it is so easy to make.

I prefer Onion or Everything  bagels for the melts.  Now, if I had time, I would make my own pesto.  Since this year has been insanely busy, I have been devouring pesto from Trader Joe’s (costs about $2.99)

I halve the bagel and spread pesto evenly on both faces.  I top it with sliced mozzarella (also from Trader Joe’s $3.49) as well as thinly sliced roma tomato.  I turn the oven on to Broil and set the bagels in there for about 5 minutes.  Once the mozzarella starts to brown in spots, it’s good to eat.

If it’s a lunch melt, I’ll add deli style Peppered Turkey and finish it with melted mozzarella and tomato.  Voila! It beats spending $6.00 at cafe. The melt cost you about $2.00 AT MOST. Plus, you can use Pesto, Mozzarella, and Tomatoes for other dishes.

Pasta Portobello w/ Roasted Tomato, Basil, & Balsamic Sauce

I love Italian cooking because it is simple and flavorful.  I’m also a sucker for tomato and fresh Italian basil, which is very expensive right now;  1 box is almost $3.00.

I recently bought basil for homemade margherita pizza.  I needed to use the herb before it spoiled.  Since I already had spaghetti at home and tomatoes are perfect matches for basil, it made sense to make a pasta.  I initially wanted to have eggplant, but 1) it was sold out and 2) it was $3.00 each (I’ll wait for it to go on sale).  I shuffled through my head and decided that  Portobello Mushrooms would be an excellent choice.  Today’s challenge was cooking the Porto for the first time, which was fortunately successful.

Here is the quick and easy recipe.

Ingredients

1. One small Portobello Mushroom ($1.14 @ $5.99/lb)

2. Spaghetti

3. Basil

4. Garlic

5. One Roma Tomato ($0.48 @ $1.99/lb)

6. Balsamic Vinegar

7. Butter & Olive Oil

8. Parmesan Cheese

———————————-

Directions

A. Boil Water for Pasta, Turn on oven to 450 Degrees for roasting tomato (optional)

B. Clean the Porto by wiping it with a damp paper towel, de-stem, and slice

C. Mince about 4 Cloves of Garlic

D. Chop the Tomato and put in Mixing Bowl along with 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil, 2 Cloves of Minced Garlic; Season w/ Salt and Pepper

• Once the oven is preheated, put tomatoes on baking sheet and roast for 10 Minutes.

By this time the water should be boiling; add olive oil to the boiling water then add spaghetti (this prevents the pasta from sticking; I use a bunch that is about 2 inches thick then break in half)

E. Heat 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil over in a pan over medium heat.  Once it is heated add Sliced Porto and remaining Garlic. Saute for about a minute then reduce heat to Low.  Cook the Porto until it is soft and brown.  Add about 1 Tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar and Season with Salt & Pepper.

Remove tomatoes from oven. Drain pasta once it is Al Dente. Reserve a bit of pasta water. Make Basil Chiffonade (roll a basil leaf length wise and slice so it makes ribbons)

F. Mix Roasted Tomatoes & Pasta into the pan with Sauteed Portobello Mushroom.  Add another Tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar as well as One Tbsp of Butter (optional).  Toss the Pasta.  Make sure butter is melted.

G. Plate the pasta.  Finish with Basil Chiffonade and Parmesan Cheese.

2 Servings at a cost of $3.00 (maybe even less).

I ate both servings. My boyfriend luckily dislikes Mushrooms.

* This is a great option for my Vegetarian friends! *