Falafel Wrap

 

Never judge a book (or falafel) by its cover. Before this, I never gave much thought to falafels. They are the round brown balls that look like croquettes or arancini, and are commonly displayed in kebab stalls at the food courts here. I love kebabs, but those falafels just never looked appetizing to me. That was then.

A few weeks ago, a friend decided to introduce me to Lebanese food at Al Aseel, where I ordered the mixed plate, consisting of grilled chicken, lamb and kofta with a variety of dips and tabouli. These were served with some pickles and a side of Lebanese bread. I wasn't a fan of the bright neon-coloured pickles, but everything else was superb. It wasn't until I had almost finished eating that my friend commented how I was not eating it the "proper" way. So, what is the proper way? Well, first you tear off a small triangular piece of bread. With the bread between your fingers, use it to grab some onions and meat, and then scoop up some dip before shoving the whole thing in your mouth. Apparently, the pieces I tore off were too big or the wrong shape, and I wasn't supposed to scoop up the tabouli either, which was supposed to be a salad. Go figure. Well, at least I learnt something new. And my favourite part of the meal? The falafel! Crunch and nutty, it reminded me of Gateaux Piment (a Mauritian snack made with yellow split peas). If I dine there again, I'll remember to order a whole plate of them, as an appetizer of course.

 

Falafel is a traditional and popular street food in the Middle East, and is generally a ball or patty made with chickpeas, fava beans or both, mixed with herbs and spices, then deep-fried until brown and crisp. There are slight variations between the falafels among the different countries. For example, Egyptian falafels are made with fava beans, whereas Lebanese ones are made with both chickpeas and fava beans (please correct me if I'm wrong!). They also vary in terms of the spices and herbs used.

 

The recipe that I've adapted is based on the super-tasty falafel at Al Aseel. Super crunchy and super addictive. Serve them with a tangy tahini sauce, or make your own falafel wrap/roll for a complete meal. So good. I will never look at a falafel the same way again.

 

Click here to continue to the Falafel Wrap recipe.

 

 



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Movida braised beef cheeks in Pedro Ximenez with cauliflower puree

My sister thinks that my posts are long and verbose at times. Well, I don't deny that. I guess I enjoy reliving the gastronomic experience and want to describe every chewable aspect of it. Maybe I should explore how to incorporate sound effects in my posts/photos next time. Crunch! Crackle! Slurp! Ahh....

Now, what would best describe these meltingly tender beef cheeks and that silky smooth cauliflower cream?

OMG....Simply awesome.

Movida Slowly braised beef cheeks in Pedro Ximenez with cauliflower puree
Source: Movida Spanish Culinary Adventures

Ingredients

1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz) beef cheeks
125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) olive oil
3 carrots, roughly chopped
1 garlic bulb, halved
1 brown onion, sliced
500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) Pedro Ximenez sherry
500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) red wine
3 bay leaves
3 tablespoons thyme leaves
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
185 ml (6 fl oz/¾ cup) cream
40g (1 ½ oz) butter

Method

1. Trim the beef cheeks to neaten them up and remove any sinew and silver skin. Season well.

2. Heat half the olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Brown the beef cheeks for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden, then remove from the pan.

3. Add the remaining olive oil, then add the carrot, garlic and onion and sauté over high heat for 12-15 minutes, or until well browned. Stir in the sherry, wine, bay leaves, thyme, sea salt and 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) water.

4. Reduce the heat as low as possible, add the beef cheeks, then cover and cook for 3-4 hours, or until the cheeks are beginning to fall apart.

5. Meanwhile, put the cauliflower, cream and butter in a saucepan, season to taste with salt, then cover and cook over low heat for 35 minutes, or until very tender. Place the cauliflower mixture in a blender and process until smooth. Keep the puree warm.

6. The sauce from the beef cheeks should by now be reduced and glaze-like. If it needs further reducing, remove the cheeks from the pan, cover with foil to keep them warm and simmer the sauce over high heat until nicely reduced. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and return to the pan; gently reheat the cheeks in the sauce if necessary.

Serve the cheeks and their sauce on warm plates with the cauliflower puree on the side.

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Hokkaido Cheesecake (Farm Design Choco Moo Cheesecake)

 

I brought this cheesecake to my uncle's housewarming party last Saturday. My aunt took a look and said "I think I've seen this cake before, with the cow-pattern. Wasn't it on TV recently?". Yes! It was on Destination Flavour Japan on SBS. "The show with that Adam Liaw guy from Masterchef..." she says. I was thinking, gee, she must have REALLY wanted to eat that cheesecake to have remembered it so well. I guess it is a rather unique-looking cake. And it tastes absolutely heavenly. Velvety smooth and silky, not too rich, not too sweet. It's really the perfect cheesecake. It's the Choco Moo cheesecake, made popular by Farm Design Hokkaido Cheesecake.

What makes this cheesecake so special is the use of Jersey milk that has high butterfat content, although you can also substitute with regular milk. The inside of the cake has little balls of chocolate ganache. The chocolate really shouldn't be oozing out like the picture above. I didn't let it chill long enough before slicing into the cake. I mean, can anyone out there who's made cheesecake before admit that they could actually wait until the next morning (or even a few hours) before cutting into the cake? I didn't think so.

 

>> Click here to continue to the RECIPE

 

 

 



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