Friday, May 26, 2006

It Can't Always Be Perfect

Sometimes there's something to be said for low tech. And I don't mean the photo, even though it is pretty bad. I tried to lighten it up but I wasn't very successful. Sometimes that happens, though.

What I'm talking about is the food itself. What you're looking at is felafal plate chez Dejamo. I don't know how much you can see from the photo, but those patties are awfully thin and very very dark on the outside. They never really set properly, and they are fine and crumbly.

Why, you might ask? I'll tell you. Because I decided to take advantage of my food processor. I loaded it up with chickpeas, parsley, spices, onions, water and lemon juice (I think that's everything), and let it go. But there was so much stuff in there (and I now understand the concept of batching) that I had to keep stopping, mixing it up, and letting it run some more. The end result was that I overprocessed it and ended up with more of a paste than a mash. So when I put the patties in the frying pan, they never really set and fine particles of chickpea batter kept frying off the patty and settling at the bottom of the pan like fine sediment.

And because there was so much going on I forgot to turn off the rice in time and it almost burned. Luckily, the slight crunchiness works with this dish.

I tried two different pans and two different oils. I was on the phone with Mary during the process so she pretty much heard the whole sorry operation as it unfolded. (I was on the phone with her because she found a problem with the incredible bauhaus sweater she's knitting and has to rip out an entire sleeve. Not a good night for either of us, I'm afraid.)

I was able to fry two batches before I gave up. I'm going to figure out a way to bake the rest of it. The good news is that it tastes good, if not a little different. A case where the sum is equal to the parts in a not so good way--I can't really taste the chickpea.

Next time, I'm just going to pull out my trusty old hand masher and make them the old-fashioned way.

Bob called to chat. He's making chicken and garlic for dinner. I'll have to ask him how that turned out . . .

Earlier today a friend asked me where I'm going with this blog. It was a timely question, because I've been thinking about that a lot myself, lately. I'll let you know when I come up with something.

4 comments:

misreall said...

Weird, I left a comment yesterday and it disappeared into the internet.
Hmm...
Anyway, I was wondering, what it the orange thing on the right side of the plate? It looks like it could be mango, or apricots, or something else.
Hoping to make gazpacho today or tomorrow.

dejamo said...

It's an extremely ripe mango. It was a nice complement to the falafel.

Enjoy the gazpacho!

Anonymous said...

"a friend", that made me feel good. thanks debi
nicole

in fact i sense a change in your writing already.

dejamo said...

You're welcome, Nicole. ;)

And thanks for your interest and input--it's helping me figure out what I'm trying to accomplish here.

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