Fabulous Falafels!

Homer Simpson (on the phone): "I was wondering, do you deliver falafel to the top of Mount Zion? Great. I'd like a large falafel with pepperoni, sausage, and extra cheese. Yes, I do know what a falafel is."

--"The Simpsons"


Earlier this week my son, Daniel, had an appointment at the Sport Medicine Clinic here on our university campus, so I walked over with him. The appointment was for 12:15 but it became obvious that he would be waiting quite awhile. Because it was noon, Daniel was starving. Actually, because he is a 17-year old boy, Daniel is always starving.

I knew that there was a small food court a couple of buildings away, so I decided to walk over there quickly and pick up something for the lad to eat. As I glanced over the various menu boards, I saw all of the 'usual suspects': pizza, sandwiches, wraps, burgers. Ho hum. But my decision was made immediately when I saw one of my very favourite fast foods: falafel.

As we saw in the above quotation, Homer Simpson quite clearly doesn't have any idea what a falafel is, but I expect most of you will. And you've probably enjoyed a few as well - in a mall food court, or at a festival, or a fair. And those of you who have travelled to the Middle East will know that they are ubiquitous over there; falafels are by far the most popular street food.

For those of you who aren't familiar with this delicious item, they are basically a sandwich in a pita. The pita is cut across the top, filled with shredded lettuce, chopped tomato and cucumber, with a tahini (sesame seed) and yogurt sauce. But the most important ingredient of all is the 3 or 4 fried falafel balls. These are made from ground chick peas, mixed with garlic, onion, parsley, cumin, and lemon juice - formed into small balls, then fried in vegetable oil.

When you bite into a falafel, you immediately taste the warm smokiness of the chick pea balls, along with the cool crunchiness of the vegetables, enhanced by the velvety earthiness of the tahini sauce. This really is a perfectly well-balanced summertime meal that you can eat with your hands. And who doesn't love that?

I was pleased that Daniel really loved his falafel. I think he was quite surprised that it was vegetarian since the chick pea balls really are so earthy and 'meaty' tasting. I had to laugh to myself because I had the same reaction to my very first falafel. I was 19 years old and my friend, Bernie, had taken me to 'The Jerusalem Restaurant' in Toronto and had ordered falafels for both of us. He promised that they were vegetarian and that I would love them. When they arrived, however, I became somewhat suspicious of the 'meatiness' of the falafel balls, so Bernie (outrageous guy that he is) went back and got the chef to come out and swear to me that they were indeed 'kosher'.

The traditional recipe calls fo soaking dried chick peas in water for 24 hours before grinding them up. So, I have included a nice recipe from 'Canadian Living' (photo as well) for those of you who are keen to try this out. And I have also decided to give you the recipe for 'Lazy College Kid's Easy Falafel' in honour of my two (non-lazy!) nephews - Mark and Owen - who have just become our family's newest university graduates. (Congratulations, guys!)

This latter recipe really is quick and easy and healthful and I hope you will try it out on a hot summer day. And you can use the time you will save to simply stop, and breathe, and revel in this wonderful time of year. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Diane


http://www.canadianliving.com/food/mini_falafel.php


http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=22060.0