This week for plant power cooking challenge 5 we have a choice of several items of which I chose beans, tomatoes and avocados.
This is going to be a simple one just to join in and keep my Hive mojo going through all my exhaustion.
I was going to soak some beans last night but I changed my mind. I happen to have a lot, I mean loads, of edamame (young green soy beans). In my last post I told of how I was given the edamame. My kitchen manager bought an industrial size bag of them frozen. His wife who is vegan goes through phases where she needs to have a certain thing. She requested these a while back and when he got them, she was off her kick. Guess who had to take half of them. Yours truly. I don't even have anyone here that I know to share them with. Yes that is correct. I have no friends except for you guys. I am very happy with that but it's difficult to send things like this to different parts of the world.
I needed to experiment. Falafels are something that I like to have from time to time. I wondered if I could replace the chickpeas normally used for falafels, with edamame. This way I could use some of these beans and also get the falafel feeling. I also felt like some corn tortillas rather than pita, and I have so much tortilla flour, also given to me.
First I rinsed the frozen beans to thaw them. It was quick.
Edamame falafels
2 cups edamame
3 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons or more of brown rice flour, or chickpea flour( I used brown rice flour)
Put in a food processor and grind until smooth adding water bit by bit to get it moving and mixing. My machine is really not good so it took a while.
Add more flour if necessary to make it like a dough.
The tortillas were made quickly with tortilla flour, water and a pinch of salt.
I don't have a tortilla press so I always use plastic wrap on the bottom and top of the ball then press with a plate. This time I had no plastic wrap so I used parchment paper.
Put each tortilla in a non stick pan and cook on medium high until slightly golden and firmer.
For the falafels I flattened them since I didn't have enough oil to deep fry. I also have a broken oven so I couldn't bake them. There was a slight amount of oil on the pan, but this non stick pan is amazing so I don't really need much.
For the toppings I made guacamole which is quick and simple if the avocados are nice and ripe.
Guacamole
1 avocado
1/8 cup minced red onion
1 tablespoon minced fresh coriander
juice of half a lime or more to personal taste
salt to taste
I really love a lot of lime but it's a personal taste. Normally I add jalapeno pepper but I didn't have any.
I did have some pickles serrano peppers which was made a while back. Just slice the peppers, saute in oil with onion and garlic, then add vinegar or cider vinegar, salt and sugar. I just add taste and add gradually each thing until I get what I want. Put in a jar. I don't do proper pickling because I make small amounts that don't last long.
I also made a quick queso to go on it. It varies each time but I basically soak cashews and puree them with a little of the liquid until smooth, then add them to a sauce pan.
I add onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, a little soy milk, a sprinkle of tapioca flour, a splash of cider vinegar and a pinch of turmeric for color. I didn't bother with amounts. I just add a little of this and that until the consistency is right. Be careful adding the tapioca starch. It can really thicken. If it happens add more soy milk.
The falafels were cut in half so the taco could be controlled with all the toppings.
Aside from the texture being a little different than a regular falafel, I wouldn't have detected the soybeans at all. It is much less trouble to work with then chickpeas in my opinion because they don't need to be soaked.
I guess this would be the most non tradition taco or falafel ever. But this is life as a Canadian with way too many edamame beans and tortilla flour.
This is my favorite use so far of these edamame beans. Con-fusion cuisine. I tend to go down that road quite a bit. I guess it reflects who I am.
Have a good one folks!