Baked Sweet Potato Falafel December 11, 2012

My crop-share doled out a ton of huge sweet potatoes this fall and I was in need of an appetizer to serve a crowd.  Scrolling through Pinterest for ideas, I came across a pin for a baked sweet potato falafel from the Leon Cookbook featured on 101 Cookbooks.  I doubled the recipe and added a yogurt sauce to complete the dish (as my husband would say, isn’t everything better with a dipping sauce?!?).  These baked mounds of goodness are topped with sesame seeds to make up for the crunch lost from baking instead of frying.  This recipe is now in my regular weeknight rotation, but is tasty enough to serve as a cocktail party appetizer.

Baked Sweet Potato Falafel

2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 ½ pounds total)
2 small cloves of garlic

1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

1 ½  teaspoons ground coriander

½ bunch fresh cilantro

Juice of 1 lemon

1 cup chickpea flour

Olive oil

Small handful sesame seeds

1 tsp. Kosher salt + more for yogurt sauce

fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

1 (6oz) container Greek yogurt (such as Fage 0%)

To make the falafel:

1.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Wrap pierce sweet potatoes several times with a knife, then wrap each potato in tinfoil.  Place wrapped potatoes on a baking sheet lined with foil.  Roast until just tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Let potatoes cool, then peel them and discard the skin.

2.  Mince garlic in the bowl of a large food processor, then add sweet potato flesh, cumin, coriander, cilantro, ½ lemon juice, chickpea flour, 1 Tablespoon salt and pepper.  Blend until smooth, with no large lumps.  Refrigerate mixture for about an hour, giving it time to firm up.  The mixture should be sticky rather than really wet.  Add a additional chickpea flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, if necessary (the water content of sweet potatoes varies).

3.  Reheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.  Using a spring-loaded scoop or a couple of soup spoons (scoop up a heaping spoonful of mixture in one spoon and use the concave side of the other to shape the sides), make the mixture into balls and place on prepared baking sheet.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 15 minutes, or until the bottoms are slightly golden brown and the balls are firm to the touch (but not hard – they should give a little).  Serve in whole wheat pita with yogurt sauce.

To make the yogurt sauce:

Combine yogurt, remaining ½ lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl.  Serve with falafel.

Serves 4-6 (makes about 18 falafels)

Ouzo Lamb Meatballs (Kaftedes) September 3, 2010

The best lamb burger I ever had was prepared  by a Greek man at a farmer’s market in Kinsale, Ireland.  The secret ingredient, he told me, was the addition of ouzo – a Greek anise-flavored spirit (similar to Italy’s Sambuca).  So I decided to make lamb meatballs using ouzo and they were phenomenal!  Don’t be afraid of the anise flavor – it isn’t licoricey.  Ouzo gives depth of flavor and keeps the meatballs deliciously moist.  No dipping sauce is needed for these flavorful lamb meatballs.

To make-ahead for a party, prepare the meatballs up to 2 days in advance and undercook them.  Reheat in the microwave for about 2 minutes, adding an additional minute at a time if needed.

Ouzo Lamb Meatballs

1 lb. ground lamb

3 Tbs. ouzo

½ yellow onion, chopped

3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1 medium garlic clove, minced

3 Tbs. fresh mint, finely chopped

1 ½ Tbs. fresh parsley, finely chopped

2 Tbs. capers (rinsed), finely chopped

1 large egg + 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

½ tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

1 lemon, zested

1.            Place meat in medium bowl, add ouzo and let sit.  Sautee onions in 1 Tbs. olive oil until soft and caramelized, about 5 minutes.  Add onion to meat mixture.

2.            Add remaining ingredients to meat mixture and knead until well combined and smooth.  Using moistened hands or a small spring-loaded scoop, form meat mixture into 1” meatballs and place on a baking sheet.

3.            Heat 2 Tbs. olive oil in large skillet, cooking meatballs in batches until browned on all sides (size of batch depends of size of your skillet – keep the skillet hot by leaving plenty of room for each meatball).  Keep cooked meatballs warm on a baking sheet in a pre-heated 200-degree oven.  Sprinkle meatballs with lemon zest before serving.

Sundried Tomato & Pesto Torta January 16, 2010

Rather than a making a dip, give this torta a try.  Similar to a savory cheesecake, the bright flavor of pesto and sundried tomoatoes are layered with creamy deliciousness.  This hearty spread will serve a large group and is a true crowd-pleaser.

It’s a bit time consuming to prepare and requires a fair amount of patience, but the end result is well worth it.  The torta can be prepared up to three days in advance and kept refrigerated.  It also freezes well and can be frozen for up to one month and defrosted in the refrigerator for 1 day before serving.  Be sure to make neat layers so each color is separate once inverted.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe originally found in Bon Appetit (August 1999).

Sundried Tomato & Pesto Torta

4 garlic cloves

1 1/2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 2/3 cups cream cheese, room temperature (about 21 ounces)

1 cup goat cheese, softened

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/3 cups oil-packed sundried tomatoes, drained

1/3 cup tomato paste

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Fresh basil sprigs

Toasted pine nuts

Sourdough baguette slices, lightly toasted

To make pesto:  With the motor running, put garlic cloves through the feeding shoot of a food processor until garlic is minced.  Add basil, ¼ cup pine nuts, olive oil and lemon juice and process until well combined.  Add ¼ cup parmesan cheese and 1/3 cup cream cheese and pulse with basil mixture until mostly smooth and blended.  Transfer to a medium bowl.

To make sun-dried tomato pesto:  Puree tomatoes in food processor until smooth.  Add tomato paste and mix into tomato mixture.  Add 1/3 cup cream cheese and pulse with tomato until mostly smooth and blended.

To make goat cheese mixture:  Using electric mixer, beat 1 cups cream cheese, 1 cup goat cheese and softened butter in large bowl until fluffy.  Season with salt and pepper.

Spray 6-cup soufflé dish with nonstick spray.  Line with plastic wrap, extending plastic over sides.  Spread 3/4 cup goat cheese mixture into an even layer on the bottom of prepared dish.  Freeze for a few minutes to harden and help evenly spread next layer.  Top with half of tomato pesto, then 1/2 cup goat cheese mixture, then half of pesto mixture, using the back of a spoon to spread each layer and freezing for 2 minutes between each layer.  Repeat layering and freezing with 1/2 cup goat cheese mixture, remaining tomato pesto, 1/2 cup goat cheese mixture and remaining pesto.  Top with remaining goat cheese mixture.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.  (Can be made 3 days ahead and kept refrigerated, or frozen for up to 1 month and defrosted 1 day in advance.)

Invert torta onto platter by gently pulling edges of plastic wrap to lift torta out of prepared dish.  Peel off plastic and smooth any wrinkles with the edge of a knife run under hot water.  Top with sprigs of fresh basil and toasted pine nuts.  Serve with sourdough baguette slices.

Sopressata & Grape Tomato Blossoms December 29, 2009

I found this recipe for Sopressata “Blossoms” several years ago and, until this year, it has never made the short list for any of my party menus.  I wasn’t sure they could be prepared in advance, and worried they were too labor-intensive to save for the last minute.  I finally decided to give them a practice run at Thanksgiving, and they were such a hit that I made them for a recent holiday cocktail party.  These delicious little bundles were worth the effort (as I was told by several people); they provide a mouthful of complex and fresh flavor in a small, bite-size package.  It helps that they’re pretty too!

While I do have to admit that tying the chives got to be a bit of a hassle (one chive seems to break for every one tied at the beginning of the process), this no-cook appetizer was otherwise very simple and required less time than some of the other small hors d’oeuvres I served.  Tying the chives requires a certain amount of patience and a delicate touch, but once you have the hang of it they can be done fairly quickly.

Give these a try if you are looking for a fresh idea for a holiday or New Year’s cocktail party.  These Sopressata “blossoms” are also excellent with wine and cheese.

This recipe is adapted from Gourmet magazine (August 2003) – http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grape-Tomato-Blossoms-108382

Sopressata & Grape Tomato “Blossoms”

1/3 cup peppered Boursin cheese (from a 5.2-oz package), softened
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
18 very thin slices Sopressata (Italian dry-cured salami or other salami, 3 ½” diameter slices; about 1/4 lb)
18 grape tomatoes
18 long fresh chives

Place a sheet of plastic wrap on your work surface.  Lay Sopressata slices flat, in rows, on plastic wrap to begin filling them in an assembly line manner.  Place about ½ tsp. softened cheese in the middle of each slice of Sopressata.  Sprinkle each cheese mound with chopped basil.  Press 1 grape tomato stem side down in the cheese to stabilize it.  Gather Sopressata up around the tomato; turn wrapped tomato on its side and lay in the center of a chive.  Carefully tie chive just below the gathered edges (around the middle of where the tomato sits) in a double knot, leaving top of tomato exposed.  Trim chive ends, turn bundle upright and gently press the smooth bottom on the counter to flatten.  Tie remaining “blossoms” in the same manner.  Blossoms can be made up to 8 hours in advance and chilled in an air-tight container or loosely covered with plastic wrap.  Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Pomegranate Salsa December 16, 2008

This seasonal salsa is interesting enough to serve at a holiday soiree.  Using pomegranate seeds  in place of tomatoes gives this salsa a hip twist.  Make the salsa at least a few hours in advance so the flavors have a chance to come together.  Serve this jewel tone salsa with red tortilla chips for added color.  Yellow or blue chips will taste great too.

 

 

Pomegranate Salsa
¼ cup 100% pomegranate juice (fresh or bottled)
2 large pomegranates
½-1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped (depending on how much heat you like)
1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped
4 Tbs. cilantro, chopped
½ Tbs. agave nectar or 1 Tbs. granulated sugar
1 Tbs. rice vinegar

 

1.       Fill a large stain-resistant bowl with water.  On a cutting board lined with paper towel or another stain-resistant surface, cut pomegranates in quarters and put them in the water.  With your hands submerged in the water, bend back the peel of one quarter of the pomegranate and carefully remove the seed sacs (called “arils”) from the white pith.  The pith will float to the top of the water and the seeds will sink.  Use your hand to skim the pith off the top of the water and throw it away.  Continue doing the same thing with each quarter until you have removed all of the seeds from the fruit.

 

2.        Combine remaining ingredients and seeds in a medium size bowl and gently mix until well combined.  Refrigerate the salsa for up to 2 days.