Sunday 8 December 2013

fresh broad bean falafel


i planted a long row of broad beans in winter where last summer's tomatoes had grown to act as a soil improver but last week i reluctantly had to pull them out to make way for climbing beans, cucumber and zucchini..i know i'm late to get them in but i seem to be struggling to keep up with the growing seasons lately..i put my garlic in late too and as a result this year's garlic heads are the smallest i've ever grown..as i stripped the sacrificial bean pods off the stalks i knew then and there what dish would be worthy of them..fresh broad bean falafel..




fresh broad bean falafel
slightly adapted from here
ingredients

3 cups double podded broad beans*#
1 small onion
1-2 garlic cloves*
a large pinch of chilli flakes*
small bunch each of dill, parsley including stalks, coriander and mint*
3 teaspoons (tsp) cumin
1 level tsp baking powder
1 tablespoon (tbs) sesame seeds
3-4 tbs olive oil
lemon juice*
salt

method

~ process all ingredients except for the lemon juice and salt
~ add lemon juice and salt in increments to taste processing between additions
~ using two large spoons form quenelles and shallow fry in olive oil until golden on each side

serving suggestion

i served mine with yoghurt and tahini (recipe follows) and coleslaw made with freshly picked red cabbage*, shaved carrot, parsley*, spring onions* and a dijon mustard and lemon juice dressing




yoghurt and tahini 

ingredients

1 cup strained homemade yoghurt
1 clove garlic grated fine*
3 tbs organic unhulled tahini
2 tsp honey (or to taste)
lemon juice*
salt
sumac

method

~ whisk yoghurt, garlic, tahini and honey with lemon juice and salt to taste
~ dust with sumac to serve

note * denotes home grown produce
        # it's best to not blanch the broad beans prior to removing the skins..blanching results in an unmanageable mixture



if you grow your own vegetables do you sometimes find it hard to clear garden beds of productive plants to make way for new seasons crops?



6 comments:

  1. This looks really good Jane. I love the yoghurt and tahini too, I think I could eat that on almost anything. Yes, I find it very difficult to clear beds and as a result I tend to end up with bits and pieces growing everywhere!

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    1. thanks jane..and i leave seedlings languishing too long too! x

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  3. Sounds delish!! Saving for bean season. Sorry about other comment, too many typos.....just realised my pc corrected some words....but the wrong language!!

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  4. Today I cleared weeds for vegetables. The weeds had been MIGHTY productive and had bred exponentially and I didn't feel guilty at all pulling them out and tossing them onto the compost heap. I, too, am late to the veggie game this year but what I lack in speed I am making up for in variety. I am trying to find all kinds of weird and wonderful things for the garden. It's an amazing experiment this year. I am off to the supermarket to get some peanuts in their shells as a NZ garden blogger that I follow grew some herself that way so in for a penny, in for a pound, peanuts here we come! Even if they just lure the slugs away from the things I actually want to eat they will be worth growing. I haven't ever tried making falafel myself but you know what? This recipe makes me want to! I have a half share in someone elses broad bean crop so I will use some of them to make some of these :).

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