Lebanese mezze - falafel, hummus and tabbouleh

course	country	time	difficulty
starter, also suitable for main	Lebanon	1h + 24h resting time	medium

Unfortunately, I missed to post the last days - I hope you don't mind. My attention was a bit occupied by our latest (and cutest) family member Oskar ^^. We got him from the animal shelter on Saturday and he really is adorable. I'd like you to meet Oskar:

BTF (back to food): The meal of the day is inspired by the Lebanon and is especially nice for vegans and vegetarians, because of the large amount of plant based protein.
It's composed of different mezze (oriental form of tapas or antipasti), which are traditional served as starter but are also suitable as main course.

It takes some time to assemble everything, but it's totally worth it!
This was the first time I've made falafel by myself and I was really impressed - these were by far the best falafel I've ever had! Try it out, and tell my how you liked it!

Falafel

Ingredients

yield 10 falafel (~2.5in/6cm)

imperial	metric
8oz	225g	dry chick peas
1		onion
2		garlic cloves
1/2 bunch		of parsley (~80g/3oz)
1 tsp		cumin
1/4 tsp		salt
pinch		pepper
3 tsp		flour
1/2		baking powder

Instruction

• submerge chick peas in cold water and leave for at least 12h, better for 24h
• strain chick peas and use a grinder or blender to mash them up
• chop onion and garlic finely or blend them as well
• mix pea puree, onion, garlic and all other ingredients and blend them again until the mixture is well malleable
• store in the fridge until use (of course you want to finish everything else, before deep-frying them)
• heat oil (wooden spoon test: bubbles > oil is hot enough)
• deep-fry falafel until golden brown

Hummus

Ingredients

yield 1 small (cereal) bowl

imperial	metric
8.5oz	240g	(strained) canned chick peas
3 tsp		tahini(sesame paste)
6 tsp		lemon juice
6 tsp		olive oil
3 tbsp	50ml	liquid of canned chick peas
2		garlic cloves
1 tsp		cumin
1/4 tsp		chili powder
1/2 tsp		salt
for decoration
paprika powder
olive oil
parsley

Instruction

• chop up all ingredients (besides these listed under decoration)in a blender
• add liquid when needed and add more spices/salt if you want to
• hummus is usually served with a small "lake" of olive oil, sprinkled with paprika powder and decorated with parsley leaves
• store in the fridge until use

Tabbouleh

Ingredients

yield 1 big bowl

imperial	metric
1/2 cup	100g	bulgur (fine)
3/4 cup	175g	warm water
6 tsp		lemon juice
pinch		salt
8oz	200g	parsley leaves, chopped
1/2		cucumber, peeled, deseeded,chopped
2		tomatoes, deseeded, chopped
1/2 bundle		scallions, sliced
1 bunch (4oz/100g)		fresh mint
4 tsp		olive oil
1/4 tsp		salt

Instruction

• mix bulgur and water in a big bowl, and let it soak for about 20min
• add all the other ingredients and mix well
• store in the fridge until use

Serve everything together with a nice fresh flatbread