Falafel w/ pickled onion, lemon yogurt & herb salad

Did I just stare at a blank page for over 5 minutes (yes), did I delete and rewrite this sentence far too many times (yes), did I just Google how to make a comeback (yes), is this reintroduction very awkward (sure). Indeed the last time I ventured into this space was at the end of last year, why I've been away for so long I'm not too sure considering I've had multiple recipe posts in my drafts for months, in fact there's a peanut butter cookie recipe languishing in there somewhere! Now according to my research on 'how to make a comeback' (not joking unfortunately) I need to decide my priorities and reevaluate, so I've decided to only post tried and testing recipes that I really love and want to document on this lil online cookbook. 
So let's kick things off with an amazing recipe for falafel with some fab complimentary sides.

Falafel is incredibly easy to whip up, its also super nutritious and veggie! Use of fresh ingredients and light spices which allow the individual flavours to come through is one thing I love about Middle Eastern food. Its very similar to the Moroccan dishes that we had over the summer whilst in Marrakech, food such as tagine, couscous, fresh bread and salads that rely on locally sourced ingredients and flavours.

It is believed that falafel originated from Egypt 1000 years ago, so its certainly withstood the test of time. Now its made all over the world (including our kitchen in rainy Manchester!) and is particularly popular with street food vendors in the Middle East. It makes a great hors d'oeuvre, but is incredibly versatile and with the side dishes mentioned this can make for a dinner/lunch recipe.

So to make Falafel you will begin by preparing the chickpeas. Drain two tins in a colander and shake to remove as much liquid as possible, then transfer on to a kitchen towel lined plate. Using tissue blot as much of the moisture as you can, the chickpeas need to be as dry as possible so that don't break up during the cooking stage.

In a bowl/jug blend one small roughly chopped onion and 4 cloves of garlic using a hand blender or if using a food processor then this stage does not need to be done separately.

To the onion and garlic add in the remaining ingredients:
the drained chickpeas
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
3/4 tsp mixed herbs
1/2 paprika
1/4 tsp red chilli flake
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 ground cinnamon
Handful of fresh coriander
2 tblsp lemon juice
50g plain flour
Blend the ingredients until well combined, you do not want the consistency to be too paste like, some texture is fine. If the mixture is too wet, add some more flour. Taste and adjust the seasoning as you see fit. 

Shape the mixture into small flat patties and set aside, it is easier do this step first. Heat up some vegetable oil in a wok, the oil needs to be hot so that the mixture does not absorb too much oil. Add the falafel in batches and cook until golden brown and crispy on the outside. Remove from the oil and drain on kitchen towel.

Now for the sides! To make the picked onion garnish slice up a small red onion and mix it together with a few tablespoons of warm water, a dash of apple cider vinegar (this is quite strong so use however much you feel comfortable with), 1 deseeded and chopped green chilli, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp sugar. Stir and let sit while you prepare the rest of the condiments.

To make the zesty yogurt combine around 5 tablespoons of natural yogurt (or greek yogurt), 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, some finely chopped picked jalapeno pepper and salt and pepper to taste.

For the cucumber herb salad chop up some cucumber and combine it with a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, finely chopped fresh mint and parsley.

To serve heat up some pitta bread, break up some falafel and add the cucumber salad on top, along with some pickled onion, dollops of the zesty yogurt and a drizzle of chilli sauce.

This can be eaten hot or cold and makes a great lunch time dinner.

😋

Enjoy!

Now a few holiday pictures from sunny Morocco!

A courtyard in one of the beautiful little mosques dotted amongst the souks in the Medina

Trekking in the Atlas mountains

walking the streets of Essaouira, a port city on Morocco's Atlantic coast

on the way to Koutoubia Mosque on Jummuah

eating dinner at a riverside restaurant

Admiring the architecture, in the pink city of Marrakech

Breakfast at the riyad, including fresh orange juice, pastries, bread and mint tea

Q x

Vanilla Cake with Nutella Frosting

Happy Thursday folks! I've had a pretty relaxing day off which has consisted of nothing the least bit productive and I mostly blame that on the social media wormhole. 
I ended up watching one too many cake decorating videos on Instagram as well and let me tell you, some people are ridiculously talented and elevate icing to an art form. 
It may have given me some much needed motivation to try and learn some new skills but we shall see how that goes. I suppose I would describe my decorating skills as rustic, in other words, I'm not one for fancy decorating and that is perfectly reflected in the cake that I made for my sister last week. The whipped cream frosting and fresh flowers made it look effortlessly pretty with minimal effort and it gets extra points for being so delicious. 

I remember as a child, birthday cakes were all about insane amounts of fondant icing (with a cartoon character or two), crazy food colouring and lots of sugar. The alternative in our house was the chocolate gateaux that you would have to defrost for a couple of hours, now I'll admit that I still think that it tastes great but rather than making a trip to Iceland (the shop not the country, for those who are confused) homemade birthday cakes are just a little more special. 
For this one I decided to try a Nutella frosting as an ode to the chocolate gateaux cream and the flowers were actually an unplanned addition, as lots of people came over and with time constraints I went with a more simple decoration. But all's well that ends well!

This light vanilla sponge is also the perfect recipe to have in your baking repertoire because it is easily adaptable, seeing as it uses the 1:1 method i.e. equal quantities of most ingredients so it can upscaled for larger cakes. 

So to make the vanilla cake you will need the following ingredients:

- Margarine

- Caster sugar

- Self raising flour

- Baking powder

- Vanilla essence

- Eggs

- Milk

To begin with measure out 225g of soft margarine and 225g of caster sugar and cream until pale and fluffy.
Then add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. If the mixture curdles at this stage, don't worry because it will be rectified later on.

Next sift in 225g of self raising flour and 2 tsp of baking powder and mix until well combined.

Add in 2 tsp of milk and 2 tsp of vanilla, give the batter a quick mix.

Divide the mixture evenly between two round tins lined with baking paper, alternatively use a large rectangle tin. Bake in a Gas Mark 4 oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool.

To make the Nutella frosting you will need the following ingredients:

- Nutella (or other hazelnut spread)
- Double cream
- Icing sugar
- Butter
- Vanilla extract 

Begin by beating together around 3 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons of Nutella together in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.

Then add in 1 1/4 cup of icing sugar, 4 tblsp of double cream and 1 tsp vanilla, whip until the desired consistency is reached. Add more sugar or cream as you see fit.

Once the cakes are completely cool begin to assemble; sandwich the frosting between the layers and over the top and sides of the cake using a palette knife. Transfer the cake to fridge to allow the frosting to set.

 The cake can be decorated as desired,  I opted for some fresh flowers and a few berries. All decorating supplies gathered from the garden!

You could also add some Ferrero Rocher, a ganache drip or using a piping bag fitted with a star tip pipe on some rosettes.
😋

Enjoy!

 Q x  

Homemade Samosas

Impromptu trips to pretty places are one of favourite things ever and although I don't get to jet of to far-flung locations every other weekend, we still do alright. For instance, the other day I went to a beautiful estate nestled just outside of the Peak District, not too far from where I live.

It was gloriously sunny and there were gardens, moorland, mansion and deer park, oh and we had a picnic by the lakeside with samosas still warm from being cooked in the morning, it was really nice (for lack of better adjectives).

Now if upon hearing the word 'samosa' your response is to say bless you and offer a tissue (true story) then boy are you missing out, because I would assume you've never tried them and these crispy little pastry parcels packed with the most delicious filling are sent straight from culinary heaven. I exaggerate not.
I have a memory from years ago when we went on holiday, we had them from the bazaar and the stall vendors would give them wrapped in newspaper and they were warm and spicy. Nowadays when my mum can get us all in the same place at one time we all help out and form a sort-of production line; I make the dough balls, mum rolls and cooks the 'roti', my sister (and me) make the samosas and my dad fries them. Bit tiring but the end result is worth it and its a rare treat, so worth the little bit of extra effort. 
The batch that we make is pretty big, not enough to feed a small army kinda big (only because you can't stop at one!) but it still means that you're dealing with large quantities of ingredients. Now my mum is a pro at this and she knows how to easily upscale quantities for her recipes, in fact it is almost instinctual.. meaning no accurate measuring involved (!) this makes it difficult for me to apply my meticulous baking methodologies but here's the good thing. Its pretty easy to not go overboard with the spices, taste test and alter as you see fit. 

So without further ado, to make the samosa filling you will need:

1.   Potatoes

2.   Peas

3.   Onions

4.   Chicken mince (optional)

5.   Spices and flavouring: tandoori masala, chilli powder, chilli flakes, garam masala, salt, dried fenugreek, lemon juice, corriander

To start with heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large pan, once its sizzling throw in two chopped onions and cook this on medium heat until the onions have softened slightly. To this add 1+1/2 tablespoons salt and 2 tsp red chilli powder and stir to incorporate.

 Meanwhile peel and chop up some potatoes, these form the majority of the filling so you need quite a lot (10 large potatoes). 
Then once the onions have softened add in the potatoes and about 400g of frozen peas, keep on medium heat and stir to combine.

To this mixture add in 1+1/2 tblsp coarse garam masala, 1 tbsp chilli flakes and cook until the water released from the potatoes has evaporated and they are soft.

If you are wanting to add some meat to your samosas, you can do this by combining 1 kilo chicken mince with one cup of water in a separate pan and cooking this on low heat, stirring continuously so that no lumps form. In terms of flavouring just add 2 tbsp tandoori masala and 1/2 tsp salt, as the majority of the spices are already in the potato mixture. Cook this until all water released has evaporated and the meat is well cooked and coloured. 

Meanwhile stir in a handful of both dried fenugreek (methi) and chopped coriander to the potato and pea mixture.

All thats left to do is combine the chicken to the potato and peas mixture; add in a dash of lemon juice and taste test. You can then adjust as you see fit i.e. add more salt and chilli flakes if required.
Side note: this filling can be used in not only samosas, but toasties, sandwiches, spring rolls or pitta bread!

If you're feeling brave (or not so lazy) you can make a quick dough by combining plain flour with a pinch of salt, then pour in enough water to combine it all together - knead until it is soft and stretchy.
If you're not so good at dough making aka me, you can use store bought dough, samosa strips or pastry.

In the case of dough, make small balls and knead them in the palm of your hand until they are smooth. Place onto a floured surface and roll it out into a circular shape (or attempt to at least).

Then place this onto a hot tawa or a flat ungreased pan, flip once the middle region begins to look cooked. Do not overcook the roti (unleavened flatbread) at this stage because we want them to have some structure but the majority of the cooking will occur at the frying stage later on. Create a stack of roti before you progress onto the next stage or if you have helpers and you're adopting the production line method you need not worry about that. 

Making the actual samosa is ridiculously easy (as depicted); just cut a roti in half, place some filing in the centre, brush some water on all edges, fold and seal one half then wrap across the other half, then crimp together the edges and voila.

The samosas can be frozen at this stage or if you actually want to eat your handiwork then heat up some oil and fry they samosas until golden brown and crispy. Serve with a spicy chickpea salad and some mint sauce.

I hope you give this recipe a go and wish you a relaxing Sunday and week ahead.
 😋

Enjoy!

 Q x