Inspiration from the Food Court: Baked Falafel

When I think of falafel, I think of the food court at the Westlake Mall in downtown Seattle. There, on shopping trips with my friend Laura, we would stop for lunch (she would get Indian, I always opted for the gyro place). We haven’t been to the food court in a while (though we still go shopping), but the memory is still there, of watching the man behind the counter fresh-fry falafel and serve them in a gyro with tzatziki.

Inevitably, the question arose: What about making falafel at home? I knew I’d rather bake the falafel, in the interest of health and minimal kitchen messes. So I turned to a recipe from one of my college notebooks and got to it. Things were off to a good start when I saw that the falafel contain many of my favorite ingredients, like chickpeas, bulger, cilantro, and cumin. When I’m using such delicious, basic foods, it’s hard to imagine that much could go wrong.

Then it came time to mash the ingredients into a mixture I could shape into patties. The recipe said to “mash until well blended” after combining the chickpeas, cilantro, green onions, and other seasonings. This proved difficult, especially as the chickpeas don’t take well to being mashed and instead break apart or slide out from under the masher. I made it through that frustrating bit, but the second time around I put the whole mixture in the food processor to save myself the trouble. Can we stop for a moment and acknowledge the greatness of the food processor?

So I wasn’t going to mash my chickpeas by hand, but I think the resulting texture after a whirl in the food processor strikes that perfect balance between smooth and chunky, a puree with bits of chickpea still visible. This translated well to the final product, thick patties with a crunchy exterior and soft, slightly crumbly interior. The bread I bought said it was pita but was actually flatbread without a pocket, so I wrapped the bread around the patties with tahini spread on top (incidentally the tahini assisted in keeping the bread in place when wrapped around the patties).

I suggest experimenting with different sauces for the falafel patties. Tahini by itself was a little too bland, and next time I’m going to stir in some lemon juice for extra flavor. You could spread hummus on top, and enjoy chickpeas on top of more chickpeas. I won’t dissuade you.

Baked Falafel
Adapted from Cooking Light

¼ cup uncooked bulgur
2 15-ounce cans cooked chickpeas
½ cup chopped cilantro leaves
¼ cup finely diced green onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil for greasing the baking sheet
Pita breads or flatbreads
Potential garnishes: Tahini, lemon juice, Greek yogurt, hummus, hot sauce

1. In a small saucepan, bring ½ cup water to boil. Add bulgur, cover, and remove from heat. Let sit off the heat until all of the water is absorbed and the bulgur is tender.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the chickpeas, cilantro, green onions, flour, cumin, chili powder, and garlic. Blend in batches in a food processor until you have a smooth mixture with bits of chickpea pieces throughout. Place blended chickpea mixture in a large bowl and stir in the cooked bulgur.
3. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Scoop ¼ cup of the mixture out of the bowl. Shape it into a ball and flatten the ball slightly to form a patty. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chickpea mixture, placing the patties about 1/2 inch apart.
4. Bake falafel patties for 12 minutes. Flip each patty and bake for an additional 12 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
5. Place one patty in the pocket of a pita (or wrap a flatbread around it) and garnish with the accompaniments of your choice.

The Off Nights: Yam Salad with Sage and Oregano

I have an appreciation for meals during the holiday season for the “off-nights”: the  evenings when one isn’t baking a Thanksgiving pie, hosting a dinner, attending a dinner, or making cookies. The nights when the cold outside negates the appeal of going out, when good food and thick socks are what you need.

This yam salad could be one of those meals: it’s simple to make (in a heavy cooking season, the off-nights should not be overly complicated), and it’s for the most part quite healthy, which can offset the indulgent foods one tends to consume this time of year. I cannot emphasize enough how much I love cubes of roasted yam, a little crunchy and browned on the edges. I’ve been known to stand over a baking sheet filled with those roasted yams and happily snack on them, leaving just enough for the salad.

Except for the sage, all of the ingredients in this salad are those that Thomas and I already use frequently in our meals. We have nothing against sage; it just never makes much of an appearance, except in the fall, and usually with a squash. But the sage is perfect in this salad, and it, combined with the feta, garlic, dried oregano, green onions, and lemon juice, leaves no need for a salad dressing.

I used a combination of bulgur and brown rice as the base of this salad, but you could use any single or combination of grains—the original recipe called for quinoa, basmati rice, and wild rice; a mix of barley and bulgur would be lovely, too. I’m going to have to say my piece about bulgur: it is delicious, super easy to make (just boil water and add bulgur; remove from heat), and, when combined with rice, adds some textural complexity. Already Thomas and I have added this dish to our list of go-to meals, an (I like to think) exclusive list for only the best of the best, a meal elite.

Not all the meals of November and December are holiday related, and sometimes those meals we have in between the hectic (but happy) events are ones to treasure, too.

Yam Salad with Sage and Oregano
Adapted from Plenty

2 yams, peeled and cut into cubes
5 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup brown rice
¼ cup bulgur
4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
3 tablespoons chopped sage
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 green onions, diced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
6 ounces feta cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spread the yam cubes on top. Drizzle 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil over the yams, tossing to coat. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cubes are soft and a bit browned on the bottom.
2. Cook the rice: In a medium-sized saucepan, bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Add rice, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until all of the water is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked.
3. Cook the bulgur: In a second small saucepan, bring ½ cup water to boil. Add bulgur. Remove the saucepan from heat and cover. Let stand, covered and off the heat, for 20 minutes. Drain any excess water from the pan.
4. Heat 3 ½ tablespoons of olive oil in a medium-sized skillet. Add the garlic, stirring constantly for 30 seconds to a minute, until lightly browned. Stir in the sage, oregano, and green onions; sauté for a minute or two, until the green onions are softened, stirring often.
5. In a large bowl, combine the rice and bulgur, then gently stir in the yams, herb mixture, lemon juice, and feta.

Picnic fare: Lentil and bulgur salad with lemon dressing

As summer makes its grand arrival in the Pacific Northwest, our dinner plans involve picnic tables and patios. Last weekend, Thomas and I sat outside and ate dinner with family and friends, taking in a view of pre-sunset Liberty Bay. We ate many delicious dishes that evening, but a lentil and bulgur salad was on my mind even days later. Light and refreshing, simple yet flavorful, it has all the characteristics of a perfect summer salad.

I decided to remake it in my own kitchen, making a few changes, of course. I kept the combination of lentils and bulgur (a couscous-like wheat; look for it in the bulk aisle), but other combinations would work, such as brown rice and black beans, or barley and black-eyed peas. I adored the little pieces of red onion scattered throughout the salad, but thought it needed more vegetables, so a chopped bell pepper went into the bowl. As summer moves along, fresh tomatoes would be welcome, too. I decided to add feta cheese, for its strong yet pleasing flavor, but also because I really like cheese.

While the original salad was tasty, I wanted to give it a little more pizazz. That turned out to be a lemon and olive oil dressing with a one-to-one ratio of olive oil to lemon juice. Not long ago, Thomas and I made kebabs, and I wondered what the lemon dressing in that recipe would be like if I added more lemon juice. I stirred in dried oregano and thyme, two herbs that pair nicely with, well, pretty much anything. After stirring everything together in a large mixing bowl, I had a salad that was not only super easy to make but looked like it belonged on a summer party picnic table.

The lemon definitely brings the pizazz, and then some. While I like the strong lemon flavor, I realize some of you might not. So, I’ve toned it down a little in the recipe below, from ½ cup each of lemon juice and olive oil to 1/3 cup of each. You certainly couldn’t call this salad bland, but the lemon is just one of the many outstanding flavors, which include feta, the herbs, and cilantro. And, after a night in the fridge, the lemon mellows out a little. The lentils and bulgur do what they do best: providing a base for absorbing all of these flavors and adding texture and substance to the salad.

You don’t need a summer party to make this salad, and I can assure you it tastes just as good when you’re sitting on your couch with the AC running nonstop (certain parts of the world know what I’m talking about). But if you have the opportunity to sit outside on a summer evening, surrounded by a gorgeous view and good friends, you not only have the perfect salad recipe; you are also a very lucky person.

Lentil and Bulgur Salad with Lemon Dressing

1 cup dried lentils
1 cup bulgur wheat
1 bell pepper, chopped
5 ounces crumbled feta cheese
½ red onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup lemon juice (½ cup lemon juice for a more lemony dressing)
1/3 cup olive oil (½ cup olive oil for the more lemony dressing)
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme

1. In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups water to boil. Add lentils, reduce heat to medium, and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the lentils are soft (add more water, if needed).
2. In a second small saucepan, bring 2 cups water to boil. Add bulgur. Remove the saucepan from heat and cover. Let stand, covered and off the heat, for 20 minutes. Drain any excess water from the pan.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, and thyme.
4. In a large salad or mixing bowl, combine the bell pepper, feta cheese, red onion, and cilantro. Stir in the lentils and bulgur.
5. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir well to coat. Serve with pita bread and a summer sunset.