Homemade Pitas

This was a big hit with the kids - I made them to go with falafel and was surprised at how much better than storebought they were. 

Software:
3 cups bread flour (you can substitute up to 1/2 with whole-wheat flour)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 packet instant yeast
1 cup warm water

Hardware:
Stand mixer, food processor or bread machine
peel
rolling pin
baking stone

Combine the ingredients except the water in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment.  With the mixer set to 'stir' slowly add the water and stir until the dough comes together.  Switch out the paddle for the dough hook and knead the dough for 5 minutes; form into a ball and cover to let rise for 1-2 hours.

After the dough has risen punch it down and divide into 8-12 equal portions.  Roll these into balls and flour lightly; cover with a towel and leave to rise for 20 minutes while preheating your oven (with a baking stone on the middle rack) to 350 degrees.

Roll out your pitas to ~1/4 inch thickness and use the peel to deposit them on the baking stone.  Bake for 3-4 minutes, then flip over and bake another 3-4 minutes.  Remove and devour as is, or brush with melted butter.  Or use them to make a falafel sandwich!

Falafel!

This recipe is somewhat labor intensive but the result is delicious, healthy, and kid-friendly.  It's also vegan, incidentally, if that sort of thing matters to you  :)

So what is falafel, anyway?  Basically it's the middle eastern take on a hush puppy (that's how my wife described it after trying it for the first time) - a fried ball or patty made up of minced chickpeas, onion, garlic, and various spices.  A food processor is fairly essential for the construction, although you might be able to make it work with a grinder attachment to a stand mixer instead.

You can eat it as-is or make a sort of sandwich using pita bread.  Traditional condiments include lettuce, tomato, red onion and tahini or yogurt sauce.

Falafel with homemade pita bread and lemon-pepper-yogurt sauce

Software:
1 lb dried chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
1 small onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic
large handful cilantro or parsley leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or red pepper flake
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Hardware:
Food processor with blade attachment
large skillet or dutch oven for frying
1 qt neutral oil (such as grapeseed) for frying
draining rig (a cooling rack, a plate, and a couple of paper towels works fine)

Start by soaking the chickpeas in cold water overnight (12-24 hours).  Drain, and place in the work bowl of your food processor along with all the other ingredients.  Pulse repeatedly until the chickpeas are a coarse, well-chopped texture (there should still be visible pieces of bean, but small pieces.)  Shape into balls or patties and let rest while you heat the oil (at least an inch deep) to 350 degrees over medium high heat.

Fry the patties for 2-3 minutes per side, or until well browned.  Remove to draining rig to drain and cool. 

Some pro tips:
The tricky part of making falafel is that often the 'dough' will not want to form into anything, but rather will fall apart regardless of shaping.  If this happens it means that your mixture is too wet.  Place the pile of 'dough' in a tea towel and wring out over the sink (this is a fairly difficult thing to do without making a huge mess, so dress appropriately) - you will be surprised at how much water comes out! 

If the dough still resists forming, try adding a couple of tablespoons of flour, stirring to combine, waiting a few minutes, and trying again.  If you have chickpea flour (gram) it is an even more effective option.

If your falafel holds together pretty well, your oil should be good for at least one or two more frying sessions.  If they fall apart really badly, the burned debris will probably mean the oil should be thrown out.

Irish Stew (St. Patrick's Day Special Edition)

I have been remiss in keeping this blog updated over the last few months - things have been busy, and although I've been cooking as much as normal I haven't been trying a lot of new recipes.

Today of course is St. Patrick's Day, and in honor of the holiday and its innate Irishness I am making a hearty lamb stew.  Why not corned beef and cabbage, you ask?  Well for one thing, the stew is a lot tastier, but also - it's actually Irish, whereas corned beef and cabbage is Irish-American immigrant food.

Software:
2.5 - 3 lbs boneless lamb shoulder, cut into bite size chunks
12oz bacon, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic; minced or crushed
1/4 cup beef broth
2 cups beef broth
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
teaspoon kosher salt
teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups diced carrot
2 cups diced potato
1 cup diced onion
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup white wine

Brown the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat; remove to large stock pot, reserving the fat.  Whisk together the flour, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl; add the lamb chunks and toss until evenly coated.  Working in batches, brown the lamb chunks in the bacon fat in the skillet over medium-high heat, adding to the stock pot once done.  Saute the onion, celery and garlic in the skillet and add to the stock pot.  Deglaze the pan with the 1/4 cup broth, add this, the 2 cups broth, and the sugar to the stock pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours.

After 2 hours add the carrot, potato, onion, thyme, and wine; cook for an additional 20-30 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked to desired tenderness.

This recipe should serve 6 people (and hungry ones at that) but can easily be scaled up or down.

Serve with bread (irish soda bread if you want to be extra authentic, but I actually prefer french country style bread myself)