Recipe: Falafel (Φαλάφελ ή Ρεβυθοκεφτέδες)

Falafel almost whipped me, but I prevailed in the end.

My friend Salwa, a Christian Palestinian, gave me her recipe ages ago, when I first started working on the book that became Tastes Like Home: Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska (a fundraiser for Alaska’s only Greek Orthodox Church). She made the recipe sound simple. Initially, it wasn’t.

The first few times I made falafel were miserable failures. Because I couldn’t get them right before the book went to print, Tastes Like Home doesn’t include a falafel recipe.

After re-consulting Salwa and reviewing other recipes for this wonderful Middle Eastern treat, I finally had my Eureka moment and figured out how to make great tasting falafel every time. Trust me; if you follow the directions, falafel are simple.

For those who’ve never eaten them, falafels are crispy fried chickpea or bean croquettes, seasoned with herbs, cumin, and coriander seeds. Salwa serves hers with tahini sauce and tomato-onion salad. Falafels are delicious either on their own or in a pita sandwich.

Falafel (Φαλάφελ ή Ρεβυθοκεφτέδες)

Makes 25-30 small patties (serves 4 as a main course)
Adapted from Salwa Abuamsha’s recipe
To make good falafel there are four important rules: 1. Don't use canned chickpeas. 2.

Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved as of March 2011. To read this post please go to


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Recipe: Palestinian Spinach Pies (Παλαιστινιακή Σπανακόπιτα)

My friend Salwa comes from Beit-jala, a small village just outside Bethlehem on the West Bank of the Jordan River. She came with her husband to Alaska, where they are raising twin sons far from the violence that has disrupted the West Bank for too many years.

Salwa is an excellent cook. Interviewing Salwa and other church members was the highlight of writing Tastes Like Home: Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. Tastes Like Home is a fundraiser for Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, a pan-orthodox parish in Anchorage, Alaska.

We are working hard to raise money for a new church building, necessary because we now hold services in a converted house far too small for our congregation. Weddings and funerals overwhelm our current building and must be held elsewhere. All proceeds from the sale of Tastes Like Home go directly into the Holy Transfiguration Building Fund.

Last month, we sold Tastes Like Home at the Anchorage Museum’s Book Fair. I staffed the booth with help from other church volunteers.

Salwa spent several hours helping out at the Book Fair. When we weren’t talking to customers, we were chatting about food. Salwa said she’d been thinking about bringing Palestinian Spinach Triangles to church the next day for coffee hour.

Palestinian Spinach Pies? My ears perked up. I asked if they were similar to Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pies). Salwa said they were the same shape, but used pita bread dough instead of filo for the wrapping, so weren’t loaded with butter. She said the filling was spiced with sumac and did not include cheese, so was suitable for religious fasting days or vegans.

I grabbed a pen and started taking notes.

I brought the Palestinian Spinach Pies to a New Year’s Eve party, where they disappeared before 9 pm. I will happily make this recipe again and again.

Palestinian Spinach Pies (Παλαιστινιακή Σπανακόπιτα)
Makes 80 2 1/2” spinach pies
Adapted from recipe by Salwa Abuamsha
The spinach pies can be made with 2 1/2” up to 5” circles. Smaller spinach pies are typically made at home, and larger pies are more often seen in bakeries and street stalls. The pies can be made ahead, baked, and refrigerated (or frozen and thawed), and rewarmed for 15 minutes at 350°F.


Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved as of March 2011. To read this post please go to


http://www.laurieconstantino.com/palestinian-spinach-pies-vegan-friendly/


Please click on over and visit my new site. Thank you!

Cookbook: Gluten-free, Vegan, and Vegetarian, Oh My

Tastes Like Home: Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has 182 recipes. All of the recipes use ingredients available in Alaska, and are easy to make in a home kitchen.

Recently, I've been getting questions about whether the book has recipes for those who don't eat meat, or are on restrictive diets. Tastes Like Home has:

Recipes for Special Diets:

• 137 Gluten-free recipes


• 100 Vegetarian recipes


• 69 Lenten recipes


• 61 Vegan recipes

Recipes from 8 countries:

• 139 Greek recipes


• 10 Armenian recipes


• 8 Egyptian recipes


• 7 Moroccan recipes


• 2 Lebanese recipes


• 10 Palestinian recipes


• 6 Romanian recipes


• 2 Serbian recipes

Recipes in all categories:

• 22 Appetizer recipes


• 29 Salad recipes


• 11 Soup recipes


• 14 Pites, Bread, Pasta and Rice recipes


• 25 Seafood recipes


• 9 Chicken recipes


• 24 Meat recipes


• 34 Vegetable recipes


• 14 Dessert recipes