The Joy of Better Cooking is for anybody who loves food and wants to build extremely handy skills and know-how.
Whether you're already a whiz in the kitchen, a battler who finds cooking a bit meh or you're starting from "which way do I hold the knife?", The Joy of Better Cooking has all the inspiration, hand-holding and cheerleading you need to get confident and bring joy into your cooking. Here's a falafel recipe to set the mood.
Fried green falafels
I learned to make this falafel care of Emi from Egypt, a vivacious woman whose childhood in bustling Cairo could be contained within these fragrant footballs. Emi told me that once I tasted her falafel, I wouldn't want it any other way. I was struck by her confidence, but thought I'd best reserve comment until we'd completed the demo of this very dish. Dear reader, it really is the best falafel recipe, and I'll never make it any other way. Emi uses dried fava beans though, and if you can find them, I'd recommend you sub them in for the chickpeas — but I'm trying to remove every possible excuse in the book, so check out chickpeas it is!
Oil, for deep-frying (I like grapeseed oil) Salt flakes, for sprinkling
Falafels 2½ cups dried chickpeas, soaked in plenty of cold water overnight 2 brown onions, roughly chopped 2 Tbsp ground coriander 2 Tbsp ground cumin 1½ Tbsp garlic powder 2 tsp fine salt 1½ bunches of parsley, approx 150g, roughly chopped 1½ bunches of coriander, about 150g, roughly chopped 1 tsp baking soda
Cauli tabouleh 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into florets, stalk roughly chopped ½ spring onion, finely diced 2 roma tomatoes, diced 1 garlic clove, bruised 2 Tbsp olive oil ½ bunch of parsley, roughly chopped ½ bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
Dressing 4 Tbsp plain yoghurt ½ lemon, juice only 1 Tbsp honey 1 Tbsp tahini
To serve Soft pitta breads Hubba-babaghanoush (see recipe below) or store-bought hummus Pickled pink cauli (optional - see recipe below) Lemon wedges
1. To make the falafels, drain the soaked chickpeas and set aside.
2. Place the onion, ground spices, salt and half the parsley and fresh coriander (in that order) in a blender or food processor. Blitz until the onion starts to break down to a sludge, and the herb stalks have yielded to the blades. Add the chickpeas, baking soda and the remaining herbs (reserving a handful for garnishing, if you like). Blend to the consistency of a smooth paste.
3. Heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan with high-ish sides; 8–10 cm of oil should be plenty. Use your tablespoon measure and another tablespoon to scoop and press the mixture into football-looking oblongs. Working in batches, gently drop them into the oil, from as close to the oil as possible, and let them fry for a minute before turning to do the other side. Sometimes they'll stick to the bottom of the pan, but just let them sit there and they'll float up with a little agitation from your spider skimmer or long-handled tongs.
4. Fry for another 2 minutes or so, until each is the colour of leather. Drain each batch on paper towel, sprinkling with salt flakes while still hot for good measure.
5. While the falafels are frying, make your tabouleh. Pop the cauliflower florets in a bowl and cover with freshly boiled water from a kettle. Let them sit for 5 minutes in the water to soften slightly.
6. Combine the spring onion in a bowl with the tomatoes and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
7. Mix the dressing ingredients together in a jug, ready for pouring.
8. Blast your blender with water to dislodge any hop-ons, then pop in the cauliflower florets, garlic clove and olive oil. Blitz until the cauli is finely chopped to the size of couscous.
9. Toss the chopped cauli through the tomato mixture. Finish the tabouleh by stirring through the parsley and coriander just before serving. Drizzle with the yoghurt dressing to finish.
10. Serve the falafels in a pitta bread, with your hubba-babaghanoush, cauli tabouleh, optional pickled pink cauli and lemon wedges.
Tips: You can store any leftover mixture overnight in the fridge, or even freeze it. You can also fry the balls and freeze for reheating straight from frozen later. Depending on what stalk-to-leaf ratio you have in your herbs, this falafel mixture might end up wetter than desired — which you'll be able to tell immediately with the first falafel, as it will frizzle heaps and start to schmutz everywhere. Pop the mixture back into the food processor and blitz in two tablespoons of chickpea flour (besan). The added starch will help bind them right up. And never fear — any schmutz will make a great crumb on poached or soft-boiled eggs, or sprinkled over soups or dips.
HUBBA-BABAGHANOUSH Serves 4–6 as a dippy starter, or as part of a main meal
In this mash-up of hummus and babaghanoush, the chickpeas help make the baba even smoother and creamier, while the eggplant makes the hummus infinitely more interesting. On toast with avocado, as a "puree" with Middle Eastern mains, or straight from the fridge, this dip is just hubba-hubba.
250g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight 2 strips dried kombu (optional, but good if you're gassy) 2–3 medium-large eggplants, the glossier the better 1 massive handful of parsley, roughly chopped 1 massive handful of coriander, roughly chopped 4 garlic cloves, peeled 2 lemons, juice only 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve 2 Tbsp tahini 1 Tbsp salt flakes 1 tsp ground coriander ½ tsp ground cumin ¼ tsp sweet smoked paprika, plus extra to serve 1–2 ice cubes
1. Drain the soaked chickpeas and place in a large saucepan with 3 litres cold water and the kombu, if using — but no salt! Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 1½ hours. Once the chickpeas are soft enough to squash between your fingers, drain and allow to cool slightly, removing the kombu. At this point, I like to peel the chickpeas for the smoothest hummus, but you are SO welcome to skip this step. I'm already asking a lot.
2. While the chickpeas are simmering, roast the eggplants over a gas cooktop or barbecue over medium heat, rotating occasionally, for 30–45 minutes, until blackened on all sides and completely soft in the middle. Alternatively, pop the eggplants on a rack over a baking tray and roast in a 200C oven for an hour or so, until the skin has charred, and when poked seems more balloon than eggplant. Leave until cool enough to handle, draped over a clean sink to leak out a whole lot of schmutz that will otherwise make your baba way too watery.
2. Scoop the eggplant flesh into a food processor. Toss in the chickpeas and remaining ingredients (including the ice cubes) and blitz until smooth and velvety, adding more olive oil if you want it even creamier. Taste for seasoning. Serve warm or cold. The hubba will last for up to a week in the fridge in an airtight container — just cover with olive oil to help stop a skin forming, and give it a good stir before serving, if need be.
PICKLED PINK CAULI
1 cauliflower, washed, dried and cut into florets 1 medium beetroot, peeled and roughly chopped ½ Tbsp caraway seeds (optional, but excellent) 2 bay leaves 1 cup white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar 4–5 garlic cloves, peeled and bruised 3 Tbsp salt flakes 1 tsp caster sugar
1. Bring a large-ish saucepan of well-salted (preferably filtered) water to the boil. Add the cauliflower florets and beetroot and bubble away for 3 minutes to soften slightly. Drain, reserving 3 cups of the now magenta-coloured water.
2. Divide the veg among two sterilised containers, each about 300ml in capacity. Sprinkle the caraway seeds evenly on top, finishing with a bay leaf.
3. Pour the reserved poaching water back into the pan. Add the vinegar, garlic, salt and sugar and bring to the boil. Pour this mixture over the veg to cover and seal. If there isn't enough liquid, boil a little more vinegar and pour over the top. The cauli and beet will get even better after a day of hanging out in the pickling liquid and will last comfortably for up to a month in the fridge.
