jenncc's Reviews
2 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 2Sort by: Title 
| Date | Rating
Cook's Illustrated
(Sep/Oct, 2018)
Falafel : page 12
This is, as the article title claims, indeed a "Really Good Falafel". It is made with all the usual ingredients - soaked chickpeas, parsley, cilantro, garlic and spices. This recipe however calls for a flour paste that you whip up in the microwave which help the ingredients come together and form a cohesive dough that will stay moist and not fall apart as soon as it hits the oil. I have never used this method nor do I usually add flour to my falafel, but have rarely had any trouble. But I wanted to experiment with this extra step so I followed instructions, made my paste and was rewarded with a moist falafel that didn't come unglued during frying. This recipe is a keeper in that I love the generous amount of herbs (I like mine practically green!) and spices. It's crisp on the outside with a moist center and the remainder of the dough was just as terrific after a night in the fridge. I'm not sure how much of this can be attributed to the flour/water mixture or if it is worth the extra step but it certainly was a really good falafel.
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Pita Bread : page 14
Let me start by saying this recipe earned the full four stars for flavor due to its overnight rest, addition of honey and good dose of olive oil. However, my dough was very wet. I am used to high hydration doughs in loaf recipes but this was the stickiest pita I had ever worked with, and ended up having to add quite a bit of flour. I scale measured all the ingredients, and the weather was very dry so I am not sure how to account for the excess moisture. Not all the pitas "puffed" so I had a few flatbreads too. In fact, these were really more like the "Greek pitas" my Lebanese dad always refused to buy - fluffy and more like flatbread. On the other hand those are exactly the ones I always coveted as a kid - so no complaints! Regardless I liked several things about this recipe - the texture was soft and pliable, the technique of dipping the rounds of dough in a bowl of flour before rolling was very helpful for this sticky dough and as noted the overnight rest create a great flavor. I may try this one again but more likely I will apply some of these techniques to my favorite recipe (NYT).
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