cooking

Steve’s Baked Falafel Recipe

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr)

Been awhile since I posted on cooking and I want to get back into the groove!

OK I love good falafel, but I’m not big on the whole “fried” thing – both for health, the effort that takes, and because often it’s overdone and you end up with carbon lumps. So I did some research, tweaked a bit, and came up with these – baked falafel!

They’re mild – if you want to jack them up try to double the lemon juice and/or salt.  You may also want to add some sesame seeds if you like those.

As for serving, I like them by hand, but they’re also great stuffed in a pita.  You can freeze them pretty easily – just let them cook first.

The secret, by the way, is the chickpea flour (as a binder) and hand-shaping them to be flat so they cook right.

Makes about  18-22 patties, or 4-5 meal servings.

Ingredients

  • 2 14.5 oz cans of cooked chickpeas (about 6-7 cups)
  • 1 tbsp crushed garlic (about 3 cloves)
  • 2 Tbsp dried parsley
  • 2 Tbsp dried cilantro or chives
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • ¼ cup chickpea flour
  1. Preheat oven to 420.  Place baking paper on a cookie tray (you can also use some oil but it kind of defeats the purpose)
  2. Mix everything but the lemon juice and chickpea flour in a large bowl.
  3. Add lemon juice.
  4. Mash the mixture until chickpeas are mostly broken up and it’s a bit like a dough.
  5. Stir in chickpea flour until it’s blended into the “dough”
  6. Using your hand take a scoop of dough, about 2 tbsp at a time, form into patties, place on cookie tray. Make sure they’re flattened so they cook well.
  7. Cook for 25 minutes.  Patties will brown a bit on the top and be solid.
  8. Flip patties over and cook another 25 minutes.
  9. Remove and serve.

 

– Steve

Recipe – Vegetarian Meatloaf

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr)

So one of my goals is to get back to reposting my cooking experiments.  I cook, you know it, and I even speak on it and lately my audience suggests I speak on it more. So here goes – and here’s one of my latest experiments, vegetarian meatloaf.

My goal lately has been to go back to experimenting with meatlike vegan food.  Why?  Well, meat has that combination of texture, savory, and filling, so why not?  Also I recenly experienced some great meatloaf, so I wanted to re-create the experience.

This recipe is “OK.”  I need to do more, but it’s a good solid vegan meatloaf and pretty filling and nutritious.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp crushed garlic
  • 2 Tbsp tomato paste
  • ¼ cup peanut butter (use the kind that’s only peanuts)
  • 1 Tbsp onion powder
  • 3 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp liquid smoke
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 ½ tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 can (14 oz) chickpeas, drained, rinsed
  • 1 can (14 oz) pinto beans, drained, rinsed
  • 1 cup oatmeal
  • 1/4 cup sauce your choice, optional

 

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Combine all ingredients but oat meal and beans. Mix thoroughly.
  3. Add beans to mixture, mash thoroughly. It may help to mash them separately if the tools you have don’t work – I recommend a large for or potato masher.
  4. Stir oatmeal into mixture until blended.
  5. Place mixture into oiled bread pan. Cook for 25 minutes.
  6. Remove and add glaze if desired.
  7. Cook for another 25-50 minutes until a fork comes out reasonably clean.  It won’t be perfect, but you won’t have a lot clinging to it.
  8. Remove and let sit abount 10 minutes so it firms.  Serve.

– Steve

Bacon Peanuts – Vegan

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr)

I’ve missed posting my recipes, and I want to get back to my blogging, so behold – my latest creation.  A vegan snack dish consisting of peanuts that taste like bacon.  Seriously, it’s a bit creepy how good it tastes.

Theres little in the way of additives or added sweetener, so you’ve got a heck of a healthy snack here.  That tastes like bacon.

  • 2 cups roasted, unsalted peanuts (you can use unroasted peanuts, but may taste different)
  • 2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 Tbsp liquid smoke.

 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Miss the soy sauce, syrup, and liquid smoke together on a bowl.
  3. Pour peanuts into bowl with sauce mixture. Stir until thoroughly coated.
  4. Pour coated peanuts and any remaining mixture into a 9×9 glass casserole dish.
  5. Place in oven. Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
  6. Remove when the liquid has turned sticky. Do not cook until completely dry.
  7. Set aside to cool, stirring every few minutes until peanuts stop sticking.
  8. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator. Should keep 3-7 days. (not sure yet)

 

– Steve