Falafel

This is one of my favorite meals. My family loves it too, even my husband and he is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Who woulda thought? These vegetarian pita fillers are crunchy and fla-vor-ful. I hate the ones that are served in some restaurants that are so dry and hard. I prefer making falafel patties verses balls, they make a better sandwich that way. The mix should be tender, not wet. If it is too loose to handle, add more bread crumbs or flour.

Frying is not the most healthy forms of cooking, but the crispness it brings to the party is often unreplicateable. For the healthiest pan fry, use clean , coconut, grapeseed or extra light olive oil. These oils can stand up to high temperatures without becoming toxic. Clean oil is important for two reasons; if the oil has been heated and cooled the smoke point has been lowered and the fats have started to oxidize. And if there are foreign particles in the oil these will burn as the oil reaches temperature which imparts bad flavor. Heating the oil to 375 degrees before food touches the pan ensures the steam will push most of the oil away from the food. When the oil is cool, it soaks into the food leaving it greasy. In this case it is fine to cover a wide pan with a quarter inch of oil, just keep the heat on medium high. For most frying applications more oil for cooking = less oil in the food. This is because cold food drops the temperature and the less oil there is to sustain the temperature the lower the temperature drops. Another solution to this is to fry in very small batches.

There is a tool, you can get quite cheaply at hardware stores called and infrared thermometer. This allows you to check the temperature of the surface of a pan, pizza stone, or oil. It is also fun to take it outside in the summer and check the temperature of the sidewalk.

2 cups chickpeas
1 onion, roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 egg
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash fresh ground pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup dry whole grain bread crumbs
refined coconut oil for frying

In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty; don't use a blender, as the consistency will be too thin. In a blender, process onion, parsley and garlic until smooth, drain onto paper towel. Stir into mashed chickpeas. In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture, slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Form balls and then flatten into patties. Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry patties in hot oil until brown on both sides. Serve in whole wheat pita's with lettuce and cucumber yogurt sauce, or on top of a salad or just a finger food snack (great for toddlers).