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A New Adventure Recipe
Falafel Balls
This Falafel recipe is much easier to make with four or more hands, freezes beautifully and the spices are subtle enough to appeal to kids. Make a batch of hummus with any leftover chickpeas.
If you have a toddler around, don't be surprised if they get eaten faster than you can make them!
Although we don't usually like to deep fry, this is a good time to bring out the deep fryer if you have one.
Ingredients:
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- Canola oil for frying (3 quarts if deep frying; 3 cups if using a deep skillet)
- 2 cups presoaked dried chick peas (place chick peas in a large bowl, cover with water and soak overnight)
- Handful of chopped parsley
- Handful of chopped cilantro
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ to 1 teaspoon of cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 -8 tablespoons flour
Directions:
In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, blend chick peas, parsley, cilantro, cumin, garlic and salt. Do not overprocess.
Transfer mixture to a bowl and mix in flour and baking powder. Form quickly into round balls.
Pre-heat oil to a medium high heat. If using a deep fryer, bring oil temperature to about 400 degrees.
Drop balls 6 at a time into the hot oil. If the mixture sticks to your hands, add a bit more flour.
Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate (changing paper towels frequently), cool and transfer to a cookie sheet.
Tips for Making Falafel Balls
Advanced Prep Work - The night before your cooking date, pre-soak the chickpeas in the refrigerator in a bowl filled with cold water.
Parchment Paper Lined Baking Sheet - Once the falafel Balls have drained slightly, transfer to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
"Fresh freeze" - Place Falafel Balls on a cookie sheet and freeze uncovered for about an hour.
Store in Zip Loc bags - Transfer the frozen Falafel Balls to zip loc bags until ready to re-heat. Make sure to squeeze out excess air before sealing the bags. Serving Suggestion
Bite sized Falafel Hors D'oeuvres - Cut pita bread into small triangles. Place one falafel ball in each pita pocket, top with a few chopped cucumbers, tomatoes or onions. Dress with a dollop of Quick Yogurt sauce. (1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt, 1 mashed garlic clove, kosher salt to taste, 1 Tbs. of lemon juice and ½ of a grated cucumber)
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Dear Friends,
Welcome to our Adventure edition of the Cooking With Friends newsletter. We hope it will inspire you to try something new. We love to hear what you think!
Please e-mail us at info@cookingwithfriendsclub.com and check out our web site, featuring our blogs and lots of great tips at www.cookingwithfriendsclub.com.
Alison and Shannon
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Something New
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We all have our old stand-by favorite dishes we make over, and over (and maybe over) again. While familiar food is comforting and it's great to have specialties, our challenge to you this month is to try something new. It may be a new recipe, or even just a different spice, ingredient or cooking method.
Take some culinary chances this month, and surprise your audience with a dish that's more "wow" than "oh, that again." And when you venture into new territories with a friend, you have two minds working on a question, four hands to do the work and double the energy to create a great dish. |
| Diving into a Different Culture
You don't have to travel to Japan, Egypt or Argentina to get a taste of those lands at home.
If you have a friend from a different country or culture, ask her to teach you how to make a dish from her world. You'll get to know each other better and learn some authentic cooking skills. And you will understand more how American food is really such a mix of food from around the world.
Some great dishes from other lands to try are Chicken and Bok Choy Dumplings, Falafel Balls, Ravioli, and Spanikopita. |
Chicken and Bok Choy Dumplings
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This recipe was inspired by Alison's friend Christina, who like her Chinese relatives, grew up making dumplings often with her family.
Ingredients:
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- 2 cups chopped baby bok choy
- 2 lbs. ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 - 8 ounce can of water chestnuts, finely chopped
- 1 bunch of scallions, washed and chopped
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 egg
- Dash black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Dumpling wrappers (available at many Asian markets, or you can cut square egg roll or wonton wrappers into rounds).
Directions:
Place bok choy in a large pot with enough water to cover over high heat. As soon as it boils, shut off heat, drain in a colander, and run under cold water. Squeeze out excess liquid either with your hands or using paper towels, and transfer to a large mixing bowl with the chicken, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, cornstarch, sesame oil, egg, water chestnuts, scallions and pepper. Mix well to combine.
Place about 1 tablespoon chicken mixture in the center of each wrapper. Moisten wrapper edges with water and lift one half up to meet the other, forming a crescent shape and pinching it with your fingers to close the dumpling with tight pleats. Alternatively, use a dumpling crimper, which makes a much easier job of it.
At this point you can "Fresh Freeze" the dumplings and transfer them to zip loc bags.
To cook the dumplings, heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Place 12 dumplings seam side up in a single layer and cook until the bottoms are golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook minutes until the water is absorbed and filling is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.
Makes about 120 dumplings |
Time-Saving Tool
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 A favorite
time-saving tool is the simple and small dumpling crimper. It's usually plastic
or metal, sells for under $5 and lets you press dumplings into perfectly
crimped half-moons.
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5 Ways to do Adventure Cooking
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- Call up a friend you've never cooked with before. Suggest a
cooking date, and choose a dish you've both wanted to try.
- Go to the grocery store and wander the aisles, letting
something surprise you. See what's fresh
and local and be inspired by an ingredient that will take you to a new dish.
- Choose a spice that's new to you and use it to change a
familiar meal.
- Pick a method of cooking you've never done (it could be
learning to use your grill, or poaching a fish) and see what you learn.
- Challenge yourself to cook something a little difficult-it
might be baking a loaf of homemade bread for the first time, making
bouillabaisse or a pie crust from scratch.
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Alison Bermack and Shannon Henry
Visit our web site at www.cookingwithfriendsclub.com.
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