Reunited and it Tastes So Good

I'm back from my seminar induced hiatus - and I'm so glad to be reunited with my kitchen. Somehow this past month I've managed to subsist mostly on free food provided by my department and by friends. There was very little cooking (other than toast and oatmeal) going on in my kitchen. The seminar is done now and it went splendidly. The faculty posed some tough questions, but I was able to engage them and actually provide coherent answers. I guess this means I've learned something in graduate school! It was a great feeling to be able to engage in conversation with faculty who specialize in everything from Gestational Diabetes to Nutritional Immunology.


Since I've neglected the blog for a while, I decided this post should make up for lost time. This post is a triple play. My friend Kellie and I made a feast tonight - a Lebanese feast - and I've included three recipes. We made homemade falafel, tahini dip, spinach, and sides. The spinach (pronunciation provided below via Google Translate) is a favorite family recipe - one that my mom made all the time when I was a kid. This dish is served with pita and laban (a thick middle eastern yogurt with less whey than regular yogurt). The seasonings are simple: lemon juice and salt. You can add more or less of these seasonings to your taste.

We also made falafel and lemon-tahini sauce. The meal was rounded out with a plate of laban and olives and some sliced Persian cucumbers. I hope this inspires you to get into the kitchen and do some Lebanese cooking!

Falafel (adapted from the New Moosewood Cookbook)
Yields about 28 2-inch pieces (we cut the recipe in half)

4 c cooked chick peas
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c finely minced onion
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 c minced parsley, packed
1/4 c water
few dashes of cayenne (more if desired)
1/2 c flour
canola oil for frying

Combine everything but the flour and oil in a food processor and process until contents form a thick uniform batter. Add the flour and pulse the processor until flour is mixed. Taste the mix. Add additional salt or cayenne or lemon to taste if desired.

Heat 3 T oil in a skillet (preferably cast iron). When oil is hot, add spoonfuls of falafel mix. Pat down with the back of the spoon until about 1/2-1/4 inch thick.

Sauté for about 10 minutes on each side - adjusting heat if the falafel brown too quickly. As the pan heats up, turn the heat down. Do this until all of the mix is used. Remove any burnt bits of falafel and add additional oil as needed.

Remove the falafel from the skillet and place on a cooling rack or plate lined with paper towels. Serve warm, with lemon-tahini sauce (recipe below).

Lemon-Tahini Sauce (Adapted from the New Moosewood Cookbook)
Yields about 2 cups

3/4 c sesame tahini
5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 medium clove garlic
1 c water
1/2 tsp salt (more if desired)
handful minced fresh parsley
cayenne to taste

Place tahini, lemon juice, minced garlic in food processor. With processor running, slowly add water. Pour into serving bowl and add salt. Stir and taste. Add more salt if needed. Add parsley and cayenne.

Serve with falafel.

Spinach (سبانخ) (from mom)
Yields 6-8 servings
(note: This is the first time I've written out this recipe. Usually I just make it from memory and taste. So be patient and creative with the measurements. They may need to be tweaked.)

24 oz. frozen chopped spinach
2 1/2 c onion, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp canola oil (for frying onions)
1 1/2 c walnut halves or pieces
4 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (more or less to taste)
7 T canola oil 
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Thaw the spinach and squeeze it out until the water has been removed. The spinach should be very dry. Heat 1 1/2 T canola oil in a pan on medium high heat. Add the onions and cook on medium high for a few minutes. Turn the heat to medium low and caramelize for about 10 minutes.

Add the spinach and stir to combine. Add the remaining canola oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and walnuts. Stir to mix. Cook on Medium heat, stirring occasionally, until spinach begins to turn brownish-green. Taste and add more lemon juice or salt if desired.

Serve with Pita.

                  

Serve the spinach, falafel and tahini sauce with sides. Our sides included laban with olive oil and olives, sliced Persian cucumbers, and pita. Good ideas for dessert are dried fruit (dates, apricots) and nuts (almonds, walnuts) or some tasty baklava (go buy this at a bakery)!

If you're looking for a good source of pita, baklava, tahini, etc, here are some suggestions:

Lansing, MI: http://www.jerusalem-pita.com/

Twin Cities, MN:http://www.holylandbrand.com/ or http://www.emilyslebanesedeli.com/

Raleigh, NC: http://www.neomonde.com/home/
Phoenix, AZ: http://www.baizmarket.com/

Kansas City, MO: http://www.habashihouse.com/

(Thanks Kellie, for help with photos and for inspiring the title of this post!)