Falafel and yogurt a mid-winter, Middle-Eastern treat

Also follow this recipe in a photoessay by Kelley Van Dilla on the Miscellany's photojournalism blog, Exposure.

As someone who loves to cook virtually everything under the sun, one of my least favorite questions seems to be a favorite of just about everyone I encounter: "What's your favorite thing to cook?" Though I used to answer this standoffishly, replying with "anything" or "I don't know" or "something I've never made before," I quickly learned that this rarely satisfies the inquirer. I needed an answer. After years of contemplation I can say, with no reservations, that my favorite genre of food to cook is Middle Eastern food. The emphasis on light, vibrant flavors and dynamic arrays of colors and condiments has made dishes like the ones in this recipe for falafel with roasted garlic hummus, tabouleh, cucumber yogurt sauce and Israeli salad, some of the most satisfying to prepare.

This cuisine is special to me for a couple of reasons. When I spent the summer after my sophomore year in London, I relied heavily on the city's falafel stands to fulfill my late night cravings. I also spent two weeks in Israel with my family and had some of the most amazing gastronomic adventures of my life. After that, I just knew. Middle Eastern food is straight-up delicious.

The recipes this week are 100 percent vegetarian, and if you eliminate the yogurt sauce (and replace it with tahina, for example) they become totally vegan as well. These recipes are also fantastic for folks on a tight budget because of the heavy reliance on produce (no meat and few packaged items) and because each component uses only a few (and often, the same) ingredients. In fact, if you look at the recipes, you'll see that with few exceptions, the only ingredients are tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, chickpeas, lemons and parsley. Those last two are prime examples of inexpensive ingredients that deliver huge flavor rewards. Both work to brighten dishes and bring some tang to the palate.

With so much ingredient overlap, you may be wondering what the appeal is of recipes like this. The secret, my friends, is in the textural contrasts. Though lots of the ingredients are similar, the falafel and its accompaniments run the gamut of food textures. The falafel has a crispy outside and a tender melt-in-your-mouth interior, the hummus is creamy as can be, the raw vegetables of the salad pack a unique crunchiness, and the yogurt sauce and tabouleh have elements of both softness and bite. These contrasts, coupled with the fact that you can create your own sandwich, make this a fun meal—one well fit for sharing with friends. I'm also a big fan of making a simple red cabbage slaw to add some additional crunch on top of the sandwich, but $20 only takes you so far.

As is the case with so many of these recipes, the hummus is totally adaptable to your taste. With this basic recipe, you can make it red pepper hummus by adding a few roasted reds, lemon hummus by squeezing in some extra juice and zest, olive hummus by blending in some green or Greek olives, or an herbed hummus by adding some chopped basil and parsley.

One last word of caution (I considered not mentioning this because it was a bit embarrassing to have such a snafu in front of the photographer, but I decided that you all have a right to know): My original intention was to deep-fry the falafel (go big or go home, right?) but as I dropped them into the 350 degree oil they absolutely disintegrated. I should have let the falafel mixture rest longer because it was a bit too loose, but in the interest of time I decided to just shallow-fry them instead. I realized this was probably a more feasible method of preparation for most people anyway, so it's probably a happy accident. I mention this not because these would taste better deep-fried or because I want you to pity my unforeseen error. I think it's important for you to know that my weekly culinary experiments never come out perfect; they're always fraught with error. Trial and error is perhaps the most important method for becoming a better home cook. It is the ability to adapt in the kitchen and to make the best of a bad situation that separates the people who will end up putting delicious food on the table from those who will just turn to the phonebook and order takeout.

Falafel

4 c. chickpeas (canned, or dried, soaked overnight)
3/4 c. chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 small red onion
1 small yellow onion
1 t. baking powder
2 t. garlic powder
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. dried oregano
2 t. kosher salt
1/4 c. olive oil, for frying
5 pieces of pita bread

Rinse the chickpeas well. In a food processor coarsely chop the chickpeas. Though you will be chopping most of the ingredients in the food processor, it is important you do them each separately, or the mixture will become a mushy mess. Remove the chopped chickpeas and place in large mixing boll. Add the parsley to the food processor and finely chop. Add it to the chickpeas. Do the same with the red and yellow onions (you want these very finely chopped). Add the baking powder, garlic powder, cumin, oregano and salt. Combine well. Let the falafel mixture rest for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

After resting, take the falafel mixture and form 1-inch balls (this recipe should yield 15-18 balls); pack them relatively tightly or they will fall apart when you fry them. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan with high sides over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the falafel balls in the pan and brown 30-45 seconds on all sides, for a total of 2-3 minutes, until the balls are golden all over. If, for some reason, the falafel balls are too wet or fall apart when you fry them, try rolling them in a little all-purpose flour (not too much) before you fry them. When the falafels are browned remove them from the pan and set on some paper towels to drain. Serve with pita (and hummus, and yogurt sauce, etc.)

Roasted Garlic Hummus

2 c. chickpeas (canned, or dried, soaked overnight)
1 head garlic
Juice from 1 lemon
2 T water
1/4 c. olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Take the head of garlic and cut off the top, so that the bottom 3/4 of each clove is exposed. Place the garlic on a small sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Tightly wrap the foil around the garlic and roast for 30-40 minutes, until the garlic is golden brown. Let cool. When cool enough to handle, gently squeeze the base of the garlic and the roasted cloves should easily come out. Set aside the roasted garlic in a small bowl.

In a food processor, chop the chickpeas. Add the lemon juice, water, olive oil, roasted garlic, salt and pepper. Blend until very smooth. Depending on your preference, you can add more/less water or oil to make it smoother or chunkier.

Tabouleh

2 c. cooked bulgur (follow directions on package)
1/2 c. finely chopped plum tomato
1/2 c. finely chopped cucumber
1/2 c. finely chopped red onion
1 c. finely chopped parsley
3 T olive oil
Juice from 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to marry. Serve cold.

Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

1 c. Greek yogurt
2 T finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 T chopped cucumber
2 t. olive oil
Juice from 1 lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl, being sure to adjust the salt and pepper as needed. This sauce is also great with the addition of 1-2 T of mint and. Depending on your personal preference, you can also add a bit more lemon juice if you like a thinner sauce.

Israeli Salad

5 plum tomatoes, diced
1 large English cucumber (any seeds removed), diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1/4 c. chopped parsley
3 T olive oil
Juice from 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Serve. Simple and delicious.

Grocery List

Italian Parsley, $2.78
Bulgur, $2.19
Chickpeas, $2.97
Greek Yogurt, $1.79
Pita, $2.69
Red Onion, $0.49
Plum Tomatoes, $1.19
Yellow Onion, $0.20
Garlic, $0.33
Cucumber, $1.99
Lemons, $1.99
Total, $18.61