The Mediterranean dishes that are made from legumes, vegetables and seafood are so delicious that once they get in your diet they will stay permanently. There are so many dishes and numerous combinations of these – legumes, vegetables and seafood – basic components of the Mediterranean diet that will enable you to have different dishes for lunch and dinner for many years without getting tired of them.
There are several culinary recipes in various Mediterranean countries and Mediterranean cuisine that have their basis legumes. One such recipe is the recipe for the falafel.
Falafel is a fried ball made from ground fava beans and/or chickpeas. It is served with tahini sauce and pita bread. Falafel is considered to have originated from Egypt but has spread rapidly in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea and latter on in the whole world. In the USA it was brought by Lebanese and Egyptian immigrants.
The following culinary recipe serves 6 people and it uses fresh Mediterranean diet culinary herbs and spices.
Ingredients
3 cups of fava beans
1 ½ cups of chickpeas
2 medium onions cut in slices
1 bunch of fresh onions with their leaves cut in pieces
½ bunch of parsley coarsely cut
½ bunch of coriander coarsely cut
1 green pepper cut in pieces
6 garlic gloves cut in slices
1 tbsp of dried crushed coriander
1 tbsp of dried crushed cumin
1 tbsp of baking soda
Salt, pepper and
Olive oil for the frying process
Execution
The process is initiated from the previous night. Soak the fava beans and chickpeas in cold water from the night before.
The next day, before cooking, you drain the water. Put the chickpeas, fava beans and the rest of the ingredients in a blender and blend everything together. You let the mixture stand still for an hour so that the real blending takes place.
You then take the mixture and you form small balls, the size of a walnut. Use all the mixture.
Put the olive oil to heat well in a deep pan and you fry the falafel balls till they get a nice red color. Turn around for evenly fried falafel.
Serve with tahini sauce, finely cut parsley, tomato, and cucumber and pita bread.
Enjoy!
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