Fri, Aug 01, 2008
Falafel
Posted to Technology category
This noon I made falafel balls (from a mix) with grapeseed oil as the frying medium. They came out pretty well, probably vecause I invested in a good frying/candy thermometer a while back and was careful to let the oil come back to 350 before I added each new batch of falafels.
My 1 teaspoon cookie disher makes a good size of falafel, but if it isn't firmly packed they fall apart or turn to little octopus shaped things.
Next time I fry, I'll use the friedchicken pan: the cast iron will hold the heat better. It will need more oil than the saucepan I used today, but it will fit more balls at a time, so things will go faster. And if I'm careful about the temperature, the oil will be reusable.
Googling says they freeze well and can be reheated in a 350 oven (I will probably use my toaster oven), which is good since the package made a big batch. I'll need to look for a recipe for yogurt dressing: I can make some with goat-milk yogurt.
According to one site I found, I could make scratch falafel from chickpeas with the meatgrinder attachment for my stand mixer. I may try that some time.
I wonder if it is possible to make non-dairy baklava? Store-bought phyllo dough seems to have stuff I'm allergic to, but maybe I could make something like it with my pasta machine. I should probably do some more googling.