Pomegranate Molasses & Falafel

What do you get when you simmer pomegranate juice for over an hour?



You get my new obsession.

I'd eat it off a spoon. I'd eat it off my shoe. I may have eaten it off my table. Hell, I'd even eat it off my cats.

(Sorry, Lucy and Mary)

It's pomegranate molasses - a thick, tart and richly concentrated syrup which is often found in Middle Eastern cuisine. It is my latest form of liquid crack.



Since my cats weren't around, I thought I'd drizzle it over some falafel* stuffed pita. I stuffed chewy pita bread with warm, aromatic falafel (pan fried this time), crisp romaine, vibrant red onion, tart and cool homemade tzatziki, creamy goat cheese crumbles and completed it all with a luscious drizzle of pomegranate molasses.



It was heaven. Absolute, total Middle Easter syrup heaven.

I can't be to blame if the leftover molasses is accidentally dumped into my ice cream tonight. What can I say? I'm clumsy.

I have big plans for this, you know, aide from dumping it on ice cream and using it as a garnish for my shoes. Just you wait.

Pomegranate molasses
Ingredients
- 2 cups 100% pomegranate juice
- 1/4 cup sugar

Instructions
- Bring ingredients to a low boil. Turn to medium low heat and simmer for 70 minutes, or until reduced by at least half. Cool for at least half an hour.

Makes about 1 cup

* = Remind me to update that recipe once I make more falafel. I've changed it and I much prefer the new one.

Falafel: A Tutorial

Hey you, in the international foods aisle holding the box of falafel mix - yes, you. Put it down! Walk away and go to the bulk bins to pick up some dried chickpeas. Go! After picking up a little of this and some of that, you'll be on your way to creating something that will snub its garlicky nose up at any boxed mix. Plus, I promise it's easy. Just follow these steps and you'll have this on your plate in no time (well, it does take time, but it's worth it).

Baked falafel

Ingredients

- 1 cup dried chickpeas
- 1/2 medium onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1/4 cup parsley
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- Cracked pepper, to taste

Tutorial

Step one:

Soak chickpeas overnight in a large bowl with enough water to cover them by at least a few inches.

Step two:

Wake up, rinse and drain your chickpeas and throw them into a large pot with a lot of water. Don't bother measuring, just dump enough water to cover everything. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour, or until chickpeas are tender.

Step three:


Put all the ingredients, with the exception of the flour and sesame seeds, in the food processor. Process until smooth. Put the mix back into a large bowl and add the flour and sesame seeds. Get your hands in it and mix until just combined. Don't overmix!

Step four:

Let the mix chill in the fridge for at least an hour. After the hour is up, get to making your falafel. Use a 1/4 cup scoop to form uniform balls. I would suggest spraying your scoop with a touch of non-stick spray so you're not beating your palm with it trying to get the falafel patties out. But, whatever works for you is fine.

Step five:

 Preheat your oven to 375 and put the falafel on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through, until they're golden on both sides. You could form these and refrigerate until you're ready to bake; I made them in the afternoon and baked them after class/the gym.

Step six:

FEAST. Serve on pita with the usual accompaniments, or with a side salad. I made a salad with cucumber/roma tomato/red onion/kalamata olives/green bell pepper/parsley and tossed with red wine vinegar, olive oil, S&P and oregano. It was perfection.

Makes 10 falafel

See? It takes some preparation, but I promise you that these taste far better and fresher than a boxed mix and are indeed fun to make. If you're REALLY scrambling for time you can use canned chickpeas, but the texture will change. I can't claim that these are truly "authentic" because they're not fried, but I don't really like fried food, so these are a great alternative.

You have no idea how many times I had to stop myself from calling them "falawesome".

Olive Juice

I outdid myself tonight, y'all. After hitting up the gym I went to my mecca (Whole Foods) and did some damage. I've been craving kalamata olives ever since I had them for the first time a few weeks ago, so of course I bought a jar. Then I spotted the sundried tomatoes and my mind went wild. My mind and my tastebuds, actually. Too much money and an hour later, after what was supposed to be a quick trip to WF, I came home with the ingredients to make this perfect meal.



Mediterranean quinoa salad
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1/2 cup water
- 6 sundried tomatoes, chopped
- 6 kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- 1 cup baby spinach, packed and lightly steamed
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp kalamata olive liquid (can sub red wine vinegar)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp oregano
- Pinch red peppa flake
- S&P
- Tofu feta (recipe to follow)

Instructions
- In a sauce pan, bring both water and quinoa to a boil, cover and turn down to a simmer for 25 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- In a bowl, combine quinoa, spinach, olives and sundried tomatoes.
- In a separate bowl, combine oil, kalamata olive liquid (or vinegar), garlic, shallot and oregano. Whisk and add to quinoa mixture. Season as necessary and top with tofu feta. Serve at room temperature. Enjoy! Note: Don't go too overboard with salt because the olives/olive liquid is quite salty.


Pre-feta




Tofu feta
Ingredients
- 1 serving (1/5 block) extra firm tofu, frozen and defrosted
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- S&P

Instructions
- Crumble tofu in a bowl, add remaining ingredients, stir and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

The scary part is that this actually tasted like feta. I highly recommend using frozen defrosted tofu because it adds the perfect feta-like texture; using fresh tofu would result in too soft of a "cheese". It totally put this dish over the top. Even just one serving of tofu makes a lot too - I used plenty tonight and still have some leftover.


On the side I had some adorable baby summer squash. I wanted to try a slightly new preparation, so I whole roasted them. The result was delicious; a nice crust formed on the outside but the inside was soft and sweet.

For these, all I did was coat them with 1 tsp olive oil, S&P and roasted them in a 425 degree oven until they were golden brown and soft to touch.

The complex flavors of this dish exploded in my mouth upon first bite; I was in heaven. The sweetness from the sundried tomatoes, saltiness of the olives and feta, sour bite of the dressing and fluffy, delicate quinoa resulted in a very happy Krystina. This is one of the best dishes I have ever made, if I do say so myself.

Gone Greek

Last night I cooked dinner with the guy from this post. I had been craving Greek/Mediterranean food for no reason in particular, so I knew that I needed something inspired by my craving for our menu. Everything turned out really well and definitely hit the spot.


First was homemade hummus and super delicious pita. I don't have the hummus recipe because he made it, but it was a pretty basic hummus. This is my first time having it homemade and it's SO much better. I'm going out and buying a tub of tahini just so I can make it at home from now on. The pita is from a farmer's market and is super soft and unlike any other pita I've had. I'm just thankful I got to take some some leftovers!





We also prepared seitan and vegetable skewers. Once again, there isn't a great recipe for this because I mostly just winged it. I marinated uniform chunks of zucchini, eggplant, crimini mushrooms, and seitan cubes in (approx):

- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 shallots
- Handful of parsley
- A couple tbsp fresh oregano
- S&P
- Pinch red pepper flake

Then popped them in a 375 oven for about 20 minutes. I drizzled the skewers with some of the leftover marinade when they were done cooking. We both liked it more vinegar based than oil based, but feel free to adjust it to your liking.

However, my personal favorite of the meal was:


A beautiful martini glass full of kalamata olives - one of my new loves.

I definitely dipped into the leftover pita and hummus (and finished the olives) for dinner tonight. Must get tahini!

Mediterranean mangia fest

Usually I'm more drawn to Asian cuisine, but over the past few weeks I've been really into Mediterranean (especially Italian) food. Here are a few highlights:


Meal-in-a-bowl consisting of millet, roasted baby eggplant, homemade marinara (just a can of tomatoes - sauce, diced, crushed, whatever you prefer - and 1 tbsp tomato paste simmered with fresh basil, oregano, lots of garlic, red pepper flake and S&P), and broccoli rabe.


Trader Joe's giant white beans, grilled zucchini, and minted couscous. The couscous is tossed with diced red onion, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, S&P and fresh mint. The beans were surprisingly delicious and I discovered how awesome mint tastes in savory dishes.


Tempeh bolognese and massaged kale.

Tempeh bolognese
Ingredients

- 1/2 block tempeh
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 1 15oz can tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup red wine
- Fresh basil, chopped, to taste
- Fresh Italian parsley, chopped, to taste
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- Pinch of red pepper flake
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- In a sauce pan, saute garlic and onion for about a minute. Crumble tempeh into pan until brown.
- Add red wine, stir to coat and let the mixture reduce.
- Add tomato sauce, paste, carrots, oregano, half the basil and parsley, and seasoning. Simmer, uncovered, on medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes or until bolognese reaches your desired consistency. Add remaining herbs (you can add them all at the beginning, but I like a little burst of freshness at the end). Adjust seasoning as necessary.
- Serve with pasta and mangia!

This is one of my favorite dishes. Ultimate comfort food.


Mushroom risotto

I followed this recipe for the most part, but used fresh basil and parsley because that's what I had on hand. I also added a tablespoon or so of OSG's vegan parmesan and red pepper flake because let's face it, I put it in almost everything. I was a little heavy handed with the parsley garnish, but I love my fresh herbs.

This was my first time making risotto and I'm quite proud of it. It took a while and needed a lot of love and attention, but the flavor was awesome. I can't wait to play around with it.