I will be making this the minute I find the oil that is required for the recipes.
Also snowy, I've made a recipe very close to the above recipe but I used Ricotta cheese instead of cottage. Also, if you add in white sauce instead of using the full amount of red sauce, gives it a creamier sauce that goes great with the noodles and spinach. Toasted Pine nuts add texture and taste to it too.
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how to make hummus & falafels like a pro [5 ingredients]
[5 ingredients | 10 minutes]
hummus
makes about 1 1/2cups
Hummus is such a wonderfully versatile condiment. I could happily eat it for every meal. It’s lovely on it’s own with some flat bread (or Irish Soda Bread – as I discovered when I was in the Emerald Isle earlier in the year). It’s also wonderful as a sauce or a sandwich spread. It’s pairs wonderfully with lamb but it’s soul mate is well and truly fresh falafels, hot from the pan.
If you prefer to cook your own chickpeas from scratch, by all means do so. But I find I get even better results with canned chickpeas.
The secret to great hummus is to use some of the chickpea cooking (or canning) water an pureeing everything for a good few minutes to make it lovely and smooth.
If you don’t have a food processor, don’t let that stop you. Just mash everything together with a fork – the result will be a little more rustic but will still taste divine.
1 can chickpeas (400g / 14oz)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 – 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons tahini
Drain chickpeas, reserving the canning water. Pop chickpeas, 3 tablespoons of the canning water, lemon juice, garlic and tahini in a food processor.
Whizz for a few minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides once or twice. Add tahini and continue to whizz until everything is lovely and smooth.
Taste and season with salt, pepper and perhaps a little more lemon juice.
falafels
home made falafels
serves 2
You can prepare the falafels ahead of time and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to fry. While cooked falafels can be reheated in the oven, they’re no where near as lovely when they’re hot out of the oil.
It’s important to have your oil hot enough, otherwise the falafels will fall apart.
As I discovered myself, the texture can be really varied depending on how tightly you press the balls when forming. The tighter, the less likely they are to fall apart, but the heavier the texture. It’s worthwhile experimenting a little to find the balance between lightness and falling apart.
I think the best thing to do with falafels is serve them with pita bread, hummus and tabbouleh – like my quinoa tabbouleh I posted about recently.
1 small round pita bread (75g / 3oz), torn
1 can chickpeas (400g / 14oz), drained
1/2 small red onion, peeled & finely diced
1/2 small bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
peanut or other oil for frying
Whizz bread in a food processor until you have chunky crumbs. Add chickpeas, onion, parsley, cumin and a little salt. Whizz again until you have a paste that is still a little chunky.
Using a tablespoon and your hands form into rounds or little logs that are about the size of a walnut in its shell.
Heat enough oil to just cover the falafels in a medium saucepan until very hot. When a piece of bread browns in 10 seconds or so, add about 1/3 the falafels and fry for a few minutes or until deep brown. Remove and drain on a wire rack. Keep warm while you repeat with the remaining batches, making sure the oil is hot enough between each.
Serve ASAP.