Blossom to Stem

Falafel, finally

June 26, 2007 in main course, recipe | 2 comments

falafel_foodprocessor_blossomtostem

I’ve been away from here for too long, I’ve been distracted by little things. A new camera with a broken dial that needed to be sent back once and a bit more of a learning curve than the point-and-shoots I’m used to. An excursion to Michigan for a holiday weekend with extended family including a new little one to meet. A bad sunburn that peeled twice and that, three weeks later, is still looking a little pink. Along with farmers markets to get to, herbs to repot, friends to visit for birthday parties and games and picnics…

But now I have a luxurious week off. And it’s time to catch up.

I can’t seem to get enough chickpeas, in any form. It’s surprising then, that I had never attempted falafel. I had heard reports from many friends of homemade falafel disintegrating or turning to mush, and I can buy some excellent falafel on the cheap at a little place a few blocks away.

It hardly seemed worth the effort.

But somehow, a few weeks ago, I found myself with a bag of dry chickpeas in hand staring at a new recipe. I’m glad I did. These were easily worth the effort involved.

These weren’t at all mushy, and while they were a little bit on the delicate side, they never threatened to disintegrate. The secret to the right texture, I’m convinced, is starting with dried chickpeas rather than canned. Apart from soaking the chickpeas overnight, which requires some planning, these come together quickly, and they’re a cinch to make.

A few a minutes of chopping, a few seconds a zizzing everything together in a food processor, and then a little bit of time rolling the mix into balls and pan-frying them. Maybe a half-hour of work, maybe less if you’re speedy.

They look and taste a little green–in a bright, fresh, good way. These have quickly become a favorite.

falafel_etc_blossomtostem

Joan Nathan’s Favorite Falafel

Source: adapted from Joan Nathan’s “My Favorite Falafel” in The Foods of Israel Today, recipe reprinted here.

Dried chickpeas are really the way to go here. They’re so cheap and easy to find that it’s really worth going to the trouble of doing the overnight soak here (and really, it’s only about two seconds of active work the night before). The ingredients are all readily available. You can use all cilantro or all parsley or a combination of the two, and any of the spices and seasonings can be adjusted to your taste. These are excellent with tahini sauce and pita, along with a bit of cucumber, tomato, lettuce, and onion either together as a sandwich or as a simple salad along side.

1 cup dried chickpeas
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup fesh cilantro or parsley (or a combination of the two)
4 cloves of garlic, crushed with skins removed
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ground
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, ground
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup flour (all-purpose or whole wheat)
olive oil for sauteing

Soak the chickpeas in cold water overnight (or for at least eight hours).

Drain the chickpeas. Add the chickpeas, onion, garlic, cilantro or parsley, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, and salt to the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until blended into a coarse, crumbly mixture with small but distinct bits of chickpea remaining–you don’t want a paste here.

Add the baking powder and flour and pulse a few times. Pinch a little bit of the mixture together and see if it holds. If it won’t hold together, add another tablespoon of flour and test again.

Roll the mixture into one inch balls and set aside.

In a large cast iron or nonstick skillet, heat a thin film of oil over medium heat. Add falafel balls, leaving enough space to maneuver around each with spatula or turner. (My pan holds about a third of the falafel at a time.) Cook, undisturbed for a few minutes, or until browned on one side. Carefully slide a thin spatula underneath each ball and flip to cook the other side.

Serve with tahini and pita and any other accompaniments you prefer.

Yields about 20 falafel balls, or about 4-5 main course servings.

chickpeas, in pancake form

May 13, 2007 in main course, recipe, starch | No comments

When I first saw this recipe, I was intrigued by its primary ingredient. Chickpea flour sounded so much more exotic than plain old chickpeas, which manage to make their way to my table in various forms on a regular basis. I couldn’t imagine how the knobby little garbanzos I know so well would behave as flour.

It turns out they behave quite well. Ground to a fine powder, chickpeas retain their characteristic flavor and pale beige hue, a few shades deeper and warmer than all-purpose flour but not as bright as yellow corn meal or as dark as whole wheat. Chickpea flour is fine and soft, not at all gritty or tough. It is a common ingredient in Indian kitchens, where it often goes under the name of besan or gram flour. In Sicily, it is used in the popular street food panelle, or chickpea fritters. In Italian markets in the U.S. it is often sold as ceci flour. It is also one of the main ingredients in socca, a popular snack in the south of France.

In these curried chickpea pancakes, chickpea flour makes for a satisfying main course. This recipe comes from Peter Berley’s Fresh Food Fast, a cookbook that gets plenty of use in my kitchen. These have more heft than any other pancake I’ve eaten. The eggs and baking powder give them plenty of lift, while the chickpea flour gives them a filling density. My turmeric-heavy curry powder turns them a lovely yellow-orange, but other curry powder blends would likely give them a redder cast, which would be lovely too. The green onions and cilantro fleck subtle bursts of green throughout. Every time I make them, I am reminded of how solidly good these are, and I resolve to make them more often, though for some reason they seem to have a tendency to get lost for a few months before I can remember to bring them out again.

But really, I am going to make them again soon.

Curried Chickpea Pancakes

Source: adapted from Peter Berley’s Fresh Food Fast: Delicious, Seasonal Vegetarian Meals in Under an Hour
.

The chickpea flour is the only tricky-to-find ingredient here, but it is, of course, essential. I found it under the name garbanzo flour at a local natural foods store. It is also available through various online sources. The tahini sauce here is a nice touch, but, as Berley says, they are also good with a garlic-cilantro yogurt sauce, and I think they’re even quite tasty unadorned. If you don’t like cilantro, you could substitute flat leaf parsley or a combination of parsley and mint.

Chickpea Pancakes:

2 cups chickpea flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup plain yogurt (I use fat free)
4 eggs
1 tablespoon canola oil (or other neutral oil)
6 green onions, both white and green parts, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped cilantro
freshly ground black pepper

Tahini Sauce:

1/2 cup tahini, well stirred
1/2 cup water
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice (approx. the juice of one lemon)
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
a pinch of cayenne pepper

First, make the tahini sauce. In a small bowl, combine tahini, water, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and cayenne and stir well. Set aside. (Can be made ahead, covered and refrigerated for about a week.)

Then, make the pancake batter. In a large mixing bowl, combine chickpea flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, curry powder, and salt. In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients–yogurt, eggs, and oil–until well combined. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until well-mixed–a few lumps are okay. Stir in the green onions and cilantro and black pepper.

In a large skillet or griddle, add a thin layer of canola oil over and heat over medium. With a ladle or a measuring cup, add about a half-cup of batter to the pan and cook until bubbles start to form in the middle, about 2-3 minutes. Flip over and cook for another few minutes until the pancake is cooked through and both sides are golden. You can transfer the cooked pancakes to plate and tent it with foil or keep them warm in a 200°F oven until all of the pancakes are done and you are ready to serve them.

You can drizzle with tahini sauce, or leave it on the side for each person to add to taste.

Yields 4 main course servings.

return of the scone, with chocolate chunks

April 22, 2007 in baking, breakfast, chocolate, dessert, recipe, starch | No comments

Sometime early in our relationship, when we had been dating for perhaps several months, Dan and I started making scones. It was an almost weekly occurrence, a satisfying project that could be completed in under an hour, proof that we had done something productive in the course of an otherwise relentlessly lazy weekend.

I no longer remember how we settled into scones. I imagine it had something to do with their sturdy, homey appeal, which makes them so comforting to nibble on combined with their faint air of Britishness¹, which lends them a certain cosmopolitan stature and makes them seem somehow less pedestrian than a muffin. Or maybe it was just their undeniable deliciousness.

We tried different recipes, added blueberries or raspberries or cinnamon chips, played with amounts of butter and fat content of milk and ratios of whole wheat pastry to all purpose flour. We ate our share of scones. My sister and our roommate even joked that Dan and I should open a bakery selling scones (and pizza, our other staple at the time).

After a while, for no particular reason, we drifted out of making them. We branched out into other baked goods and found ourselves with busier weekends when we sometimes baked nothing at all.

But we recently revisited the habit with a new recipe and were reminded why scones were so easy to fall for in the first place. This recipe is another one from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet. Made with cream and no butter, these scones are rich, yet light, and crumble when bitten into. The dough is noticeably less sticky than other scone doughs I’ve worked with, and it comes together easily. Out of the oven, these scones are golden on the edges but otherwise a delicate pale speckled with dark bits of chocolate. I think they’re even better on the second day, when their lightness gives way to a pleasing density. I think I could get used to having scones around again.

Cream Scones with Bittersweet Chocolate Chunks

Source: slightly adapted from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet

These scones are quite delicate and not too sweet. Any type of chocolate works here, and chocolate chips would be fine, but I prefer the texture of uneven bits of melting bittersweet. These are probably too delicate to stand up to any fresh or frozen fruit, but I have a hunch that dried fruits, such as currants, tart cherries, or apricot pieces would be lovely in lieu of chocolate. Cinnamon chips or other flavored chips could also work, if you aren’t in the mood for chocolate. With more than a cup of cream, they are not exactly health food, but they’re worth the splurge for a treat. A coarse sugar, such as turbinado or demerara will be prettier on the tops, but any mildly flavored sugar, including plain refined white table sugar, will do. You can replace a half cup of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour, white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour for a slightly heartier, but still tender and light, scone.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small chunks
about 1 tablespoon milk or cream for brushing tops
about 1/2 tablespoon sugar, preferably turbinado, demerara, or coarse raw sugar for sprinkling tops (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until well combined. Stir in chocolate chunks. Add the cream and mix until the dry ingredients are moistened. The dough will seem a little dry, but should hold together when pinched. With your hand, knead the dough in the bowl, gently, until it all comes together in a smooth ball.

Turn the dough out onto a clean counter (or silpat or sheet of parchment paper) and pat into a circle about 8 or 9 inches in diameter and about 3/4 of an inch thick. With a butter knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 8 wedges. Place the wedges onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with milk or cream and sprinkle with turbinado (or other) sugar, if using.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges and tops have turned golden. Cool on racks.

Yields 8 scones.

Even if a scone in Britain is something closer what Americans call a biscuit. [back]

Another way to nonstick

April 10, 2007 in cooking gear, cookware, tips | 1 comment

Questions about the safety of Teflon-coated nonstick cookware come up pretty regularly. It seems that the pans have allegedly caused deaths in birds and flu-like symptoms in humans¹. The official word from DuPont, the FDA, and the EPA is that they’re generally considered safe when used within recommended guidelines. That includes not heating an empty pan, generally cooking over low or medium heat (up to 450°F or 500°F depending on the manufacturer) and avoiding using metal or sharp-edged utensils that can scratch the coating.

Seems reasonable, for the most part, though a good sear can depend on high heat and it’d be nice to be able to stick them under the broiler without fearing for the safety of nearby birds. There are plenty of people convinced Teflon will kill you or give you cancer or migraines or something. I’m not in their camp, I’m just not convinced that most nonstick pans work all that well.

I find they have a tendency to get gummy when used with nonstick sprays, and when that happens they can be tougher to get clean than their conventional counterparts. With heavy use their nonstick properties seem to diminish, and they need to be replaced more frequently than conventional cookware.

I’m simply not convinced that they have much of an advantage over alternatives that don’t share their questionable safety record.

Cast iron is one alternative. When cast iron is well-seasoned, it releases food easily and lasts forever. Enamel-coated cast iron allows you to skip seasoning the pan and is nonreactive, so you can cook tomatoes and other acidic foods in them without risking any off flavors or colors. Woks are another option. Often made of cast iron or carbon steel, they also require seasoning and release food with minimal effort. The carbon steel ones are lighter, and obviously excellent for stir-frying and any light sauteing. Round woks can wobble on Western gas stoves and don’t really work on flat electric ranges, but flat bottomed woks sidestep that problem.

I’ve recently discover another option I can add to the list, a blue steel crepe pan.

I would never have thought a crepe pan was worth owning. It seemed like a single-tasker, and I don’t make crepes often enough to warrant owning such a specialized item, but this little pan–only 7 and 7/8 inches (20 centimeters) in diameter–has proved to be a versatile compliment to my other cookware.

It is small, light weight, and easily maneuverable. It works well for crepes, of course, and their American cousin, the pancake. I haven’t quite mastered the art of hoisting and flipping a pancake in the pan with a flick of my wrist, but this pan is light enough that I won’t hurt myself trying.

It has become my go-to pan for eggs. Small omelets, made with two or three eggs, fit perfectly. It is also oven and broiler-safe, making it ideal for individual frittatas that tend to spread thin in a larger pan.

It heats quickly and works well for toasting spices or nuts or sauteing anything in small quantities. Its low sides grant a spatula easy access. It also bears a remarkable resemblance to Indian pans used for making flat breads such as dosas, chapatis, and rotis, all of which I’d like to try my hand at at some point.

It does need to be seasoned–I had good luck following these directions on how to do that. Tradition dictates that it be wiped out with salt rather than washed with soap and water. I’ve washed it gently with a small amount of soap to no ill consequence. It does need to be dried immediately and thoroughly to avoid rust.

At only $15, it’s quite a bargain. I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for alternatives to Teflon or an affordable, long lasting, little pan with loads of old-world charm.

Mine was made by De Buyer. I found it here.

Tugend, Alina. “SHORTCUTS; Teflon Is Great for Politicians, but Is It Safe for Regular People?” The New York Times. October 14, 2006. [back]

in search of spring

March 31, 2007 in recipe, starch, vegetables | No comments

Lifeless in appearance, sluggish
dazed spring approaches–
William Carlos Williams, “Spring and All”

Spring comes to Chicago in fits and starts. We swing from freezing temperatures to upward of 70-degrees and back again, sometimes within the same day. The sun teases us into thinking we barely need jackets, but the wind off the lake reminds us that we should have brought gloves and heavy sweaters, and the ominous clouds urge us to carry umbrellas.

T.S. Eliot famously called April the cruellest month for wantonly stealing away winter’s comforting covers, and there have been years when I’ve been inclined to agree with his assessment. But this year, on the cusp of April, I find my thinking aligned with another poet, Kenneth Koch, wondering impatiently “When will there be a perfectly ordinary spring day?”

Maybe tomorrow, then again, in this city, maybe not until May, or June, or sometime next year…

This is a dish for a fitful early spring day. Asparagus might be the season’s quintessential vegetable. A good bunch can go a long way toward appeasing my impatience for the other parts of spring. Spaetzle, in contrast, are little bits of starchy comfort. These too often overlooked German dumplings consist only of flour, eggs, and water, and are easy to make. Swathed in a beurre blanc sauce, asparagus and spaetzle welcome the green and ward off the chill of a day that straddles spring and winter. This is simple and delicate and makes a lovely dinner with a basic green salad and a glass of wine.

Asparagus and spaetzle with beurre blanc sauce
Source: Adapted from Deborah Madison’s recipe for Asparagus Ragout in Vegetarian Suppers and Judy Rodgers’s recipe for Martha’s spaetzle in The Zuni Cafe Cookbook.

This is an unconventional riff on a beurre blanc sauce. I’ve exchanged red onions for shallots and reduced the butter in the traditional version. The red onions have a stronger flavor than shallots and add bright pink flecks to the sauce, making the effect rather less subtle than the original. You could certainly use shallots here if you prefer. I’ve jumped the gun a bit with asparagus from California. The local stuff doesn’t seem to be available around me yet, but I couldn’t resist and was rewarded with a bunch that tasted like it should. Out of season asparagus tends to taste flat and have a tough, woody texture, which makes it altogether disappointing. Look for bright green stalks with tightly closed tops for better flavor. The width of the stalks is unimportant to the flavor, but roasting times should be adjusted by a few minutes for particularly thick or thin specimens

For the beurre blanc

2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons dry vermouth or dry white wine
1 tablespoon red onion, minced finely
3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces

For the spaetzle

2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
2 eggs
6 tablespoons water
special equipment: Colander with 1/4 inch holes (or a spaetzle maker)

For the rest

about 3/4 pound asparagus, tough ends removed
small handful of button mushrooms, thinly sliced (optional)
olive oil
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut asparagus into about 1-inch pieces, toss with a little bit of olive oil and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for about 10-15 minutes, or until tender.

Meanwhile, make the beurre blanc sauce. In a medium sauce pan, add vinegar, vermouth or wine, and red onion. Bring to a boil, reduced heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced to about 1 tablespoon. Remove from heat and whisk in butter, one piece at a time, until all the butter is added and the sauce is smooth and butter-colored. Set aside. (Check the asparagus, remove from oven and set aside.)

Make the spaetzle. Combine flour, eggs, and water in a medium bowl, and blend with a fork until well combined. In a wide saute pan or stock pot, bring water to a boil, and salt generously. Have a slotted spoon and a plate ready. Over the boiling water, place about a third of the batter into a colander and, with a flexible spatula, press the batter through the holes into the water. Be careful to avoid overcrowding the pot–there should be a little bit of room at the surface for the dumplings to move around. The spaetzle should float in about thirty seconds. (If they stick to the bottom of the pot, loosen them gently with a slotted spoon.) After they float, allow them to cook for about 1 minute. Drain them with a slotted spoon and place them in a single layer on a plate. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

In a saute pan over medium heat, add a thin coating of olive oil or butter, add mushrooms if using and spaetzle and saute until spaetzle are slightly browned and crisp. (You could omit this step, if not using mushrooms, and simply toss asparagus and spaetzle with the sauce.) Remove from heat, add asparagus and beurre blanc and stir. Season with salt and pepper.

Yields 2 servings

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Falafel, finally

chickpeas, in pancake form

return of the scone, with chocolate chunks

Another way to nonstick

in search of spring

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