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Kosher Vegan Southwest Falafel

I love being an American! We get the best of everyone's foods. Let's take a little bit of Mexico, a little bit of Texas, and a little bit of Persia and throw them all in a blender. It turns out they play very nicely together.

As I've said before, you really can't go wrong with chickpeas. They're crazily versitile. Any time I start wondering what to do with a new spice blend or random vegetable I find in the fridge, somehow chickpeas creep into my improvised meal.

Therefore, I unwittingly turned an experiment with southwest spices into what I later realized was just fancified falafel. Ah, well. It felt so creative at the time. Somtimes it's fun to throw a couple different kinds of cuisine together and see what happens. This southwest falafel is just as easy as classic falafel but with a little fun for those of you who can't put the chillies down.

I suspect these would be even better in a deep fryer, but they're pretty darn tasty pan fried.

• 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 four oz can diced green chilles
• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 2 tbsp cilantro
• 1 tsp hot paprika
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup olive oil

In a large skillet, bring the oil to a medium heat. While the oil is heating, throw the chickpeas, chilles, onion, bell pepper, garlic, parsley, cilantro, paprika, oregano and cumin into a blender or food processor. I like to leave mine a little bit gritty, but you're welcome to blend it until it's completely smooth.

Mix the flour and baking powder. Now scoop everythign out of the blender or food processor and combine it with the flour mix. You should end up with a stiff dough. If it's too wet or falls apart in your hands, add another 2 tbsp of flour.

Make the dough into balls about the size of a silver dollar, then squish them slightly flat in your hands. Basically, you're trying to make sure the oil will cover most of the falafel patty. Don't mash it paper thin. Then you just end up with a confusingly crunchy crust.

Try one patty first to make sure it comes out alright. If the first one falls apart in the oil, add another 1 - 2 tbsp of flour to the batter. Once you're sure they're a texture you like, feel free to fill your pan with as many as it'll take.

Fry the patties for 2 - 4 minutes per side - basically until they're golden brown. Drain them on a few paper towels to cut back on any greasiness. If you have a deep fat fryer, try making the falafel into balls and cooking it for about six minutes. I'm guessing here, so if you try this, please let me know.

SERVING SUGGESTION

Since these are southwestern flavored, I recommend making sandwiches with tortillas instead of pita bread. Pile the patties with your favourite salsa, some corn relish, lettuce, and soy pepperjack cheese.

Kosher Vegan Lentil and Onion Soup

I love onions. When I lived in Germany, I'd sometimes saute a sliced onion with a couple cloves of garlic and eat it on a toasted baguette. My roommates thought I was The One Poor American, and therefore kept trying to kindly slip meat into my food for fear I'd starve to death.

• 1 pound brown lentils
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 small red onion
• 1 cup peeled pearl onions
• 2 leeks
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 head garlic
• 1 tbsp basil
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp olive oil

In a very large soup pot, bring the vegetable broth and bay leaf to a boil.

Meanwhile, dice the onions into different sized chunks for texture variation. Personally, I dice the red onion pretty fine, the yellow onion into larger chunks, and the white portion of the leeks into broad strips. Throw away the green portion of the leeks.

Bring a skillet to medium heat. Add the olive oil and all your onions (including the peeled pearl onions). Saute until the the onions start to turn translucent. Now press or dice all the garlic and add it in as well. Stir heartily and continue to cook until some of the onions just start to caramelize. Don't worry that a lot will still be translucent. They're different sizes and types. They're supposed to cook at different rates.

Now add the rest of the spices. Stir well so your onions are thoroughly coated.

Hopefully, your stock is now boiling. (If not, take the onions off the heat until the vegetable broth boils.) Add your pound of lentils to the boiling broth and stir well. Now dump in your onion mix. Try to scrape any lingering spices and such out of your skillet.

Once the mix is boiling again, give it another good stir. Now cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. If your pot is prone to boiling over, leave a tiny crack for steam to escape.

Stir once every half an hour. It should take about 2 hours for the lentils to fully cook.

Serve with a hearty brown bread. On the second day, it'll be thick enough to serve on top of cooked rice for a complete protein in one meal.