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Thursday 9 April 2009

Falafel, that's fun to say. Falafel. FAAAA LAAAFEELLL!!

Well howdy there.

This week I have been making up meal plans and sticking to them like a good girl and a couple of ideas I had worked really well. So that means I have 2 recipes to share today.

Firstly - this is one that I've been thinking of for a while. I was in the supermarket a while back on the lookout for some falafel and I saw carrot falafels! Of course they were not vegan, so I thought screw you Waitrose - screw you in the ear! I shall make my own. And I did. And they were rad. I was planning to serve them on pittas with yoghurt sauce, but the supermarket ran out of pittas - seriously, how do you run out of pittas??? So I went with a salad instead which would normally mean I'd be hungry again within an hour, but I wasn't.


Carrot Falafel with Yoghurt & Tahini sauce

Ingredients
Stage 1
1.5 cups / 250g cooked chickpeas
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ cup / 4 tbsp chickpea cooking liquid or water
1 tsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
Stage 2
½ tsp baking powder
1 medium carrot, grated (generous ½ cup)
¼ cup / 4 tbsp yellow cornmeal

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F and spray a baking sheet with a little oil.

Put the first stage ingredients into the food processor and blend until pretty much smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the other ingredients, mixing well to combine. It should be a pretty soft dough.

Take a rounded tbsp or so of the mixture at a time, roll into a ball and flatten slightly. Then place on the baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes. Flip, then cook another 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned. Go careful, they are very soft – not dry like some store bought falafel can be.

Serve in pitas with salad and yoghurt tahini sauce or with whatever ya like. This made about 10 falafel.

Suck it Waitrose!

Yoghurt Tahini Sauce
¼ cup / 4 tbsps soy yoghurt
1 tbsp tahini
Pinch cumin
Pinch salt
Pinch pepper
A couple of dashes of hot sauce (I used Franks), optional
3 tbsp of water (I used chickpea cooking liquid
Tbsp of finely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) – use flat parsley if you don’t like coriander. I think some mint and some dill would also be great in this.

Method: Just whisk everything together, it’s that simple.

Secondly, I've been planning to revisit my savoury muffins for ages and change 'em up a bit. I decide to axe the sheese and add some veggies. So I added some sweetcorn and shredded courgette with a bit of jalapeno for a nice kick. They are YUM, perfect for a savoury treat when the need arises!

Spicy Courgette Corn Muffins
I know it sounds like a long ingredients list, but most of the items are store-cupboard stuff! This makes 6 muffins, double it for 12.

Dry Ingredients:
¾ cup / 125g medium yellow cornmeal
¼ cup / 40g wholemeal flour
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
Pinch black pepper
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp dried thyme
¼ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp dried sage
Pinch garlic powder
½ cup grated courgette/zucchini (about ½ a medium courgette)
½ cup / 40g sweetcorn (half a small tin)
2 rings of jarred nacho jalapeno chilli (optional for a bit of a kick)
Wet Ingredients
¾ cup / 185ml unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used light soya)
½ tsp white wine or cider vinegar
2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
1 tsp tahini
½ tsp miso (optional)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F and spray a 6 or 12 hole muffin tin with a little oil.

Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. I put the veggies in with the dry and get them all nice and coated to stop them sinking to the bottom - although I don’t think that would happen anyway in this mixture – it’s pretty thick!

Whisk together the wet ingredients and pour them into the dry. Mix until just combined. Spoon into the muffin tins and press down. These don’t rise much, if at all, so you need to fill them to the top.

Bake for around 25 minutes, until just lightly browned and a knife or skewer comes out clean. Leave them to cool for a good 15 minutes and carefully remove to a wire rack. They’re pretty crumbly – but not dry at all. They are yum.


Cooking to: Eagles of Death Metal - Heart On (I got tickets to see them in June - SQUEEEEE!!)


And a bonus pic of dinner the other day. VCON Chickpea cutlets, couscous with pinenuts and veggies and tahini sauce with lots of paprika in.


Happy Easter to anyone that celebrates it! I don't really but I am a HUGE fan of the 4 day weekend - sandwiched between two 4 day work-weeks! Have a great long weekend off everyone!!

25 comments:

  1. Nice falafel! Never thought of putting it with carrot before!

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  2. Carrot falafel? Now that's unique! I adore falafel in just about any form, so I bet I would love this version too. :)

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  3. Carrot falafel sounds interesting and the muffins look delish.

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  4. carrot falafel!!! since i'm not vegan i am so going to hunt for these in waitrose... then again, i could just make your fabulous vegan recipe! looks amazing :)
    as do the muffins - veggieful!

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  5. Oooooh! Carrot falafel!!!! I am certainly going to make this recipe. Thanks for sharing. It looks amazingly yummy!

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  6. Carrot falafel? What an interesting application, it looks delicious, as do those muffins, mmm!

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  7. Carrot falafel sounds so delish! And I love the idea of topping a salad with falafel instead of eating it on a pita.

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  8. i'm loving all the recipes, Sal! i never woulda thought about carrot falafel - gonna have to try it out! i noticed you've got shallots in there, and i loooove me some shallots! w00t! your savory muffins sound scrumptious, indeed - and they look so awesome! i think they're something dan & i would love! yay!

    totally printing off ALL your recipes now! and i see those tasty brussels there! they're my fav! mmmmmmm!

    enjoy the long weekend, Sal! :)

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  9. Ooh carrot falafel, they sound gorge! I'll have to give them a try :)

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  10. Wow, super yum to everything! But no fair - we don't get extra long weekends for Easter here in the states!

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  11. It's possible Jen and I bought out all the pitas in England and Scotland on our road trip. I apologise for the inconvenience. ;)

    The carrot falafels are intriguing. Will have to try them!

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  12. I like your attitute, go home and make your own :) The falafel recipe sounds great but also does the sauce recipe! And those muffins look great, too!

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  13. Mmmmm falafel! And double mmmm for carrot falafel!!!

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  14. Mmmmmm Falafel!!!
    I LOVE 'em and your Carrot ones sound and look super rad. Thanks for the recipe Sal - will try these for sure.
    xx

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  15. falafel looks awesome. I haven't made any for ages!
    I also love the Easter date this year... it's better than December!

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  16. Yum. I like that you snuck extra veggies into the falafel and muffins. I do that all the time too. You can never have too many veggies!

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  17. What a glorious few days of food. Yum! Carrot falafel...now that's thinkin'!

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  18. I have been craving falafel...and hey, carrots!!! Right on - I'm sure they are super-num! And I was also thinking about those cutlets...I'm heading over to your place!

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  19. whoa whoa whoa. you've turned the falafel world on it's ear, my dear. a must try, as i tend to have more carrots than i do chickpeas. lovin' it.

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  20. You crack me up, Sal! You sure showed that Waitrose who's the sheriff in Falafeltown! :-D

    They look delicious, AND your savoury muffins sound so good! I still haven't made the chickpea patties from VCON, not sure what is WRONG with me.

    Happy 4 day weekend to you too!

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  21. Well look at that falafel! I am a fan!

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  22. carrot falafel, how awesome! thanks for the great recipes, sal. can't wait to try them out :)

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  23. carrots in falafels, what an awesome idea. I'm on a carrot kick lately.

    I never thought of having tahini sauce w/ the chickpea cutlets. another really good idea, you're cranking out the great ideas :)

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