{"id":338,"date":"2009-06-19T14:35:16","date_gmt":"2009-06-19T21:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sparkledesign.net\/fidget\/?p=338"},"modified":"2009-06-27T15:09:22","modified_gmt":"2009-06-27T22:09:22","slug":"falafel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sparkledesign.net\/fidget\/2009\/06\/19\/falafel\/","title":{"rendered":"Falafel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Falafel\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I LOOOooove falafel. While nothing will ever be as good as deep-fried falafel balls from one of the delicious hole-in-the-wall places in Santa Cruz, these are crispy, flavorful, and quite simple to make. You must try to get Greek Pita for this meal – I had never found it in supermarkets until I moved here so I have no idea if it’s widely available. Probably, and I never had a clue. Anyway, it’s soft and moist and delicious, not dry and flimsy like typical pita pockets.<\/p>\n

Falafel Wraps with Yogurt Dressing<\/strong> (serves 3-4)
\nAdapted from Real Simple magazine, September 2002<\/p>\n

15 oz can chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
\n3-4 cloves garlic, minced
\nZest and juice from a small lemon
\n1\/4 onion, minced (1\/2 cup)
\n1\/2 t cumin
\n1\/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
\n3 T minced parsley
\n3\/4 dry bread crumbs
\n1 egg, beaten
\n2 T olive oil
\n1 cup plain yogurt
\nSalt and freshly-ground pepper<\/p>\n

To serve, Greek Pita, tomatoes, cucumber, red onions, lettuce, kalamata olives, etc.<\/p>\n

In a glass or metal bowl, mash the chickpeas with a fork, until no whole beans remain. Add most of the garlic, the lemon zest and juice, onion, cumin, red pepper flakes, 2 T parsley, 1\/4 cup of the bread crumbs, and 1\/2 t. salt. Mix well to combine. If the mixture is crumbly and doesn’t stick together, add yogurt a tablespoon at a time until the mixture forms a moist dough. Form the mixture into walnut-sized balls (16 to 20 total). Dip each ball into the beaten egg and then roll in breadcrumbs. Flatten slightly into patties and place on a large plate.<\/p>\n

Heat 1 T olive oil in a non-stick skillet and cook the patties in batches, adding more oil as needed, until they are crisp and browned, turning once to brown both sides.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, you can bake them in the oven. Preheat the oven to 400,\u00c2\u00b0 brush a baking pan with oil, and arrange the falafel patties on the pan. I misted them with olive oil but this is optional. Bake for 5-10 minutes per side, until they are browned and crispy.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, mix up the yogurt dressing: combine 1 clove minced garlic, 1 T parsley, 1\/4 t salt and freshly ground pepper.<\/p>\n

Warm the pita one at a time in a dry skillet or a toaster oven. Spread each with yogurt sauce, and fill with falafel patties and desired veggies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I LOOOooove falafel. While nothing will ever be as good as deep-fried falafel balls from one of the delicious hole-in-the-wall …<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sparkledesign.net\/fidget\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sparkledesign.net\/fidget\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sparkledesign.net\/fidget\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sparkledesign.net\/fidget\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sparkledesign.net\/fidget\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.sparkledesign.net\/fidget\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":340,"href":"https:\/\/www.sparkledesign.net\/fidget\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions\/340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sparkledesign.net\/fidget\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sparkledesign.net\/fidget\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sparkledesign.net\/fidget\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}