In this last week of SoCap, I'm struggling to find an epic final recipe to share with y'all.  Should we go simple and cheap, as usual?  Probably.  Though I'm tempted to go wild, the integrity of intern-ready meals is at stake.

So the simple instruction is to buy a box of falafel (Fantastic brand is good) from your local grocery store.  It's there with the veggie chili mix and the couscous.  Falafel is a pretty labor intensive process -- and our homemade recipe likely won't come close to the tastiness you can find at Amsterdam or Old City Falafel.  But by going low maintenance on this portion, you can devote your time to cutting up delicious things to accompany the little patties in their pita shell.  Choose stuff like purple onion, plum tomato, feta cheese, hummus, cucumber, tahini -- anything that's fresh and has a good texture can join the party.  

Mix the powdery substance (little ground chickpeas and spices)  with water and form some patties.  This would be the fun part.  Try to make them pretty small and flat - that way, when you fry them, you won't have too much uncooked stuff in the center.



And now, the treacherous part -- dealing with hot oil.  No matter how many times I've fried things or used oil, I'm always frightened of burning myself.  I don't know if you share my anxiety, but I reassure you -- it will be ok.  Get the oil good and hot til it shimmers - test a cube of bread to see if its ready - it will turn golden and crisp (if it's too cool, the patties will fall apart and get oil-logged - a no no).  Fry a couple of patties for 5-7 minutes, checking for burning.  If you're serving a large group and want to eat with them, throw the patties in the oven (300 or so) to keep them hot.

One box of falafel makes a hefty amount of falafel.  So host a party or make your meals for the next few days-- as always, you'll be saving some change and keeping it easy.