mmm...falafel

I am a real sucker for falafel. Whether they are made from broad beans or chickpeas I can't resist a well made falafel wrap with all the salady saucey trimmings. I've attempted to make them a few times before and had only ever had limited success. But that was until I stumbled across this awesome recipe from the wonderful Ottolenghi in his Jerusalem book. I serve mine with turkish flat bread, finely sliced red cabbage, carrot and onion, a few bits of sliced tomato then some tahini and or chilli sauces. Always a household favourite an worth the effort. Seriously - I doubt you'll ever have had falafel as good as this made at home.

Ingredients
250g dried chickpeas, soaked in water overnight
small bunch of flat leaf parsley, coriander or any mixture, finely chopped
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground cardamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp water

Oil for deep frying

1. Put the soaked chickpeas, onion, garlic and fresh herbs in a food processor and pulzerise until it is evenly mixed and is starting to come together but not mushy or like a paste.
2. Add the dried spices, water, flour and salt then put on full power for another minute or so or until everything is thoroughly combined and holds together. 
3. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover then leave to chill in the fridge for at least an hour or until ready to use. I often put the mix together in the morning then cook it up in the evening.
4. When you're ready to cook preheat your oil in a suitable cooking device ( I use a large wok) to a medium temperature. Check the temperature by dropping a small amount of the mixture to see if it sizzles.
5. Using either a couple of table spoons or a small ice cream scoop form the mixture into small falafel balls and place carefully into the oil. Cook until golden on all sides about 3-5 minutes then remove carefully with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper to drain of excess oil.

 

courgette, chickpea and roast tomato salad

Continuing my thread of recipes using up what I've got in my cupboards before I move house is this delicious salad. It's straightforward to prepare and very 'Ottolenghi' in style. I had a jar of wonderful Spanish chickpeas to use that I had bought from Brindisa that are seriously good. Much creamier and quite a lot larger than what you usually get in cans. This recipe brings together several of my favourite ingredients into a tasty and satisfying salad. If you don't like one of the ingredients don't use it - make it vegan by omitting the tuna and egg, maybe add some grilled red peppers for a different flavour, boost the chilli levels, switch the herbs - basically, go with what you fancy, this is your salad. It makes a great summer supper especially if you serve it with some toasted fresh bread.



Ingredients
425g drained, cooked chickpeas
2 courgettes
3-5 tomatoes
3 eggs
olive oil
sherry vinegar or lemon juice
small bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 tsp sumac
salt
pepper
1 tin tuna steak in spring water
bunch of spring onions, finely chopped
2 tsp dried or fresh dill
1 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)

Toasted bread to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 200C, quarter the tomatoes and lightly drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and a generous amount of cracked black pepper. Roast in the oven for around 30 minutes or until they are soft and slightly golden on the edges. Meanwhile prepare the rest of the salad.
2. Preheat a griddle pan then slice the courgettes lengthways about 3-5mm thick, brush with a little olive oil mixed with black pepper then place the slices on the griddle pan for about 5 minutes on each side or until they are cooked through and have grill marks on each side. Place to the side until you're ready to assemble the dish.
3. Boil the eggs to your preferred hardness. I like them when the yolk is still a bit soft for salads. Peel and halve ready for assembly.
4. In a large bowl place the chickpeas, tuna, chopped spring onions, chilli flakes, sumac, parsley, dill, a little salt and pepper to taste and a glug each of olive oil and sherry vinegar. Mix together until evenly combined. Taste, then adjust the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper balance to your preference. 
5. You can put this salad together any way you like I opted for a ring of courgettes round the edge of the plate topped with the roasted tomatoes. The chickpea mixture in the middle and the boiled egg halves on top. A final sprinkle of sumac over the top and it's ready to go. 

chickpea mixture

the finished salad

I'm entering this recipe in the July Four Seasons Food Challenge hosted by the lovely people at Chez Foti and Delicieux. 

semolina, coconut and orange syrup cake

I am a huge fan of Yotam Ottolenghi's recipes. He isn't scared of strong flavours, the recipes often challenge my preconceived ideas of what ingredients 'should' work together and the methods are usually fairly straight forward. What's not to love? Below is my variation on the semolina, coconut and marmalade cake that can be found in the recent book Jerusalem. I didn't really fancy the loaf shape suggested in the book so I used one 22cm spring form tin. Also, I couldn't find orange blossom water in my local shops so instead created a delicious lemon and rosewater syrup instead. I found it really worked well but feel free to stick with the original if you prefer.

Ingredients

WET:
180ml sunflower or vegetable oil
240ml orange juice (roughly two large oranges)
160g orange marmalade (fine cut or peel-free)
4 medium eggs
grated zest of 1 orange

DRY:
70g caster sugar
70g dessicated coconut
90g plain flour
180g semolina
2tbsp ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder

SYRUP:
200g caster sugar
140ml water
1 tbsp orange blossom water (or 2 tsp rosewater (or to taste) and 2 tsp lemon juice)

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C FAN/gas mark 4. Grease and base line your tin.
2. Mix together the wet ingredients until fully combined.
3. In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients then add the dry to the wet and mix thoroughly. The mixture should be quite runny.
4. Bake in the oven for around 45-60 mins or until a skewer comes out cleanly.
5. Towards the end of the cooking time combine the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to the boil over a gentle heat then remove from the heat. 
6. When the cake is cooked remove it from the oven and use a skewer to make small holes all over. Carefully pour over the warm syrup making sure you use it all. In Jerusalem they recommend brushing the syrup over and waiting for the syrup to be soaked in before repeating then continuing the process until all the syrup is used. I am far to impatient to do this but by all means feel free to do it yourself. I found with my method all the syrup got used and nothing bad happened so all is good.
7. Leave the cake to cool down a little before removing from the tins to cool completely. 
8. Serve with greek yogurt or creme fraiche, flavoured with orange blossom water if you fancy.