Friday, March 16, 2012

FALAFEL


One of my favourite foods. Falafel. A wonderful dish with chickpeas and sometimes with fava beans too. You can find it in many countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. They know how to eat over there. Let’s make Falafel.

Ingredients:

A 15 oz chickpeas can
A 15 oz fava beans can
½ chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon parsley, fresh if it is possible
Some flour, 2 or 3 tablespoons
Salt to taste
Some freshly ground black pepper
Some vegetable oil
Pita bread
Pickles
Sliced tomato

First we will have to make the paste for the Falafel. We will use chickpeas and fava beans. Open the cans and wash the chickpeas and beans a bit. Chop the onion and the garlic. Blend the cumin and coriander seeds in a mortar. Put the chickpeas, the fava beans, the garlic, the onion, the parsley, the cumin and coriander in a blender and start blending. You have to get a paste. If the mixture is not thick enough, you can add more flour.
Then we will have to make the balls with the paste. It is helpful to make them with the help of a tablespoon.
The next step is frying our falafel. Heat some oil in a frying pan. When it is hot, fry the falafel in batches. Fry them on both sides. Once they are done, leave them on kitchen paper towel or on a metal rack to get rid of extra oil.
Then we will only have to prepare our pitas. Heat them for a couple of minutes in an oven. And after that, just put some pieces of falafel inside along with the sauce, tomato and pickle. You can add some lettuce if you want. In fact, you can add other favourite vegetables. Delicious. Enjoy!

Monday, March 5, 2012

BEEF AND PROVOLONE SANDWICH


Today we will prepare a delicious sandwich. A Beef and Provolone Sandwich. Perfect for lunch. But very good for dinner too. Let’s start.

Ingredients:

2 pounds Angus beef chuck
2 cloves of garlic
Salt to taste
Some freshly ground black pepper
Sliced tomato
Some sliced onions
Some pickles
Some sliced Provolone cheese
Your favourite bread
Your favourite sauce, optional

First slice the garlic. Then we will prepare the meat buy making some cuts in the Angus beef chuck. Do not make them too deep. Now put the slices of garlic in the cuts of the meat. Put the meat in a pressure cooker and add some salt and pepper to the meat. Cover the meat with water and cook the meat in the pressure cooker for about 30 minutes, starting counting when the pressure cooker begins to steam. Let it cook and when you open the cooker, if you see that the meat needs more cooking, you can do it with the cooker open. You can remove the garlic if you do not want it.
Carve the beef, as finely as you can.
Once you have the beef cooked and carved, you will only have to prepare the sandwich. Take your favourite bread and put pieces of beef inside. Then add tomato, pickle, onion and cheese. You can take the sandwiches and put them in the oven for a couple of minutes. This will melt the cheese.
And then you will have your sandwiches ready. You can add some sauce if you want. I do not think it is necessary though. But make it your way. Get a beer. Or two.
Enjoy!