Sara In Akko

Don't let the pictures, or my husband's commentary, fool you. This was either the most ingenious use of DIY resourcefulness or a total fast food impostor recipe abomination. I lean towards best at-home lunch ever!

Although I live in a city bursting full of kosher schwarma shops that line the main street, there are precious few places that sell falafel.  Why is that you ask? I honestly have no idea.

If you live somewhere with a great discrepancy between available schwarma to falafel or just want to know the easiest way to make your own (healthier) falafel and also fix up your pita like a genuine street food experience in your home, this tutorial is for you.


 Super Amazing Falafel DIY Impostor Recipe

Step 1). The easiest way to get genuine falafel is to purchase a ready made powder which you can purchase here or if you're adventuresome you could grind your own chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and mix in spices like these found here. Both options will produce falafel and it all depends on your personal preference. Although I have ready mix waiting in my home (usually due to the family Etsy shop) I like doing things the long and tedious way (grinding beans and adding fresh spice).

Step 2). If you happen to keep a deep fryer around the house, you can toss in the tiny balls of mush chickpea mix till browned. If you are like me and terrified by the thought of cooking with vats of oil, it's time for the oven. This is where my husband and I disagree because I find no reason falafel needs to be a burning hot ball of grease whereas he absolutely believes this is exactly what falafel should be.


Step 3). Cut your pita in half, throw it in the over for just a minute to help it open up a bit if it is giving you trouble.

Step 4). Cut up your essential pita stuffers. At a genuine falafel street vendor you'd find a wide variety of salads and pickles but luckily I enjoy a simple palate of pickles, onions, Yemeni spice and humous (oddly enough, also ground chickpeas... there is a bit of redundancy in available ingredients throughout the Middle East).  


If it's fresh and a vegetable it also belongs in a pita. Middle Eastern fast food is not really as detrimental to your health as the American variety (minus the flaming balls of fried grease).


This is some serious humous. In Hebrew it's just called "spicey" and is found at our local grocer.

Viola! Everything a genuine falafel should be; a mix of texture, extreme spice and stomach soothing fresh veggies. Not too healthy but not a heart attack in a bun. I highly recommend giving this a try at home.

Again the sudden urge for something that does not exist in my immediate area, the illusive Chinese Take-out in Israel. Sure, there are some imitations in larger cities that mostly showcase the local perversion of classic Chinese flavor, Akko is not a large city and I'd like something not doused in Thai Chili sauce and passed off as "Szechuan Beef."

But then there are those days when I think, "Why can't we make Arby's Curly Fries at home?" Or "How hard could it be to make Salsa Verde?"

The fries aren't actually very difficult to replicate with some simple spices we keep in the house, but as luck would have it the tomatillo is entirely inaccessible in the Middle East. *Tomatillo is a husked, sour, green, tomato like vegetable and it is the base for Salsa Verde.

When my 4 year old was hinting for a baking project the other day, I knew it was time to try something different. The impostor recipe for Aunt Annie's pretzels that I had come across seemed too promising to pass up.

The recipes can be found all over the web but they more or less all seem about the same. Here's what I used.

After I threw the yeast and sugar to proof in a bowl I walked away for a minute and by the time I returned to the kitchen, I knew this recipe was absolute gold. The brown sugar must be the secret because my entire kitchen smelled like Aunt Annie's Pretzels.

Not that I want my kitchen to smell like a mall foodcourt, but in this case it was a good sign.

Although the recipe I followed was rated a 4 out of 5 in difficulty, it seemed pretty straight forward and the soda/water bath before baking really made the difference in the pretzel texture.

My kids like Za'atar, lots of it on everything. So while the kids and spouse devoured their homemade mall style pretzels with a distinctly Israeli twist, I quietly made mine cinnamon and sugar and enjoyed the few minutes of peace in my kitchen.

This is a Curly Fry impostor recipe that I've used on everything from tiny potato wedges to sweet potato slices... it may not be exactly like those greasy deep-fried calorie explosions, but does make for a great quick way to spice up the nightly side-dish. If it just isn't the same without the long potato curls... here's the thingy that curls fries for you.

After three years of sitting dormant, buried under the kitchen mayhem and clutter of three home moves, I finally dragged that huge metal paperweight out and made use of it. I was a bit disappointed that the results were so simple, so quick and effortless. I had avoided the much wanted pasta machine for so long because I had built up an image of how terribly difficult and messy pasta making would be. Clearly it was no more trouble than of my other home projects.


It's not really a magic recipe but more like guidelines for getting your dough to work:

I used a 1:1 ratio of flour to egg for the first batch, kneading more flour into the dough as required by the extreme humidity of our area.

If it sticks, you need more flour. If it won't cut, you need more flour.

Let your pasta dry thoroughly and when ready to cook, toss it in a pan of boiling, salted water (I usually add a t ouch of olive oil to avoid the stickiness). When your pasta floats and is tender, it's ready.

No more mystery to the surprisingly heavy box that continues to move with us.

Next up Gnocchi!