Friday, September 14, 2012

Mediterranean Feast

I was craving a falafel all day... used to eat them for lunch when Beccy and I would wander around Freiburg. Unfortunately, we discovered a few years back that garbanzo beans don't agree with me, so I said goodbye to a lot of delicious food. Today I decided lentils would solve my problems! This was SOOOO good! 

Lentil Falafel

2.5c lentils (mix of red and french)
4 c broth
cook 25 minutes, let cool 15-20 minutes
***
bunch of parsley, chopped
1T coriander
1T cumin
1t cardamom
1t cloves
.5t cinnamon
.5t chili powder
1/2 onion chopped
head of garlic (peeled and chopped)
1/4-1/2c olive oil

blend everything together in a food processor until the consistency is like playdough. 
season as desired. 
using a cookie scooper (what are those things called?), scoop balls of mixture, flatten to patties with hands, coat in panko bread crumbs. 
place on an oiled cookie sheet. Bake at 400* 20-25 minutes, flipping once.
makes 45-50 small patties (we used 3 to 4 patties per pita)
You can freeze any mixture or patties you don't want to cook for use later


We served these with pita (store bought because I didn't think up dinner early enough for homemade), baba ghanoush from the mediterranean bakery (has anyone ever made it? is it difficult?), tomatoes, thinly sliced cukes and carrots, lettuce, and feta sauce inspired by the olive bar at the English Market in Cork. Look for that recipe below!


Feta Sauce

a wedge of feta
a small head of garlic
a bunch of basil
olive oil

toss it all in the food processor and blend, adding oil, until it's beautifully green and the consistency of yogurt. 

Sorry the pictures don't do it justice... there's only so much I can do with the iphone :-/