Falafel Hummus

Brace yourself, folks: today you about to experience something the internet has never experienced before:

Falafel-flavoured hummus! Okay, I can’t be 100% certain that this has never appeared on the internet before, but my various efforts at Googling (and even Binging for god’s sake (I was getting paranoid)) “falafel hummus”, though turning up many hits, only loaded pages featuring falafel with hummus and the like. As far as I can tell, no one on the internet has yet thought to create and share a falafel-flavoured hummus recipe.

Which is ridiculous, first of all, because falafel and hummus are both totally delicious, and two delicious things in one is always a good idea; second of all, because falafel and hummus even come from the same cuisine, which makes my immediately preceding claim a little less ridiculous; and third and most importantly, because falafel is pretty much hummus already, really just a mere tahini scoop and olive oil splash away.

A bit of backstory: I got the idea for falafel hummus last week while I trying out Oh She Glows’ recent falafel recipe. That didn’t turn out so well, unfortunately (just a problem with getting the mixture to cohere, which was my fault, something with my breadcrumbs I think), but it did make me remark on how similar making falafel is to making hummus, at least at the start before you get to frying. Both dishes start from a chickpea base; falafel is just distinguished by a few extra ingredients (cilantro, parsley, and onion) and a drier texture (more crumbly than smooth). Thus I got to thinking: I could probably make a delicious and unique hummus using the very same falafel recipe I was working with, just by making a few slight modifications: namely, by removing the binders (breadcrumbs and ground flax seeds), including some hummus standards (tahini, olive oil, and water), and adding those extra falafel flavours. And I was right.

The result was easily one of the best hummuses I’ve ever made, and one I’m sure I’ll be repeating it again very soon. The recipe follows the amounts from Oh She Glows’ falafel recipe very closely, so thanks again to Angela for the inspiration. And be sure to refer to my classic hummus guide if you need some basic hummus-making pointers. Enjoy!

Falafel Hummus
(makes about 3 cups)

Ingredients

• 2 cups chickpeas, cooked
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• half a small red onion, chopped
• ¼ cup tightly packed fresh cilantro
• ¼ cup tightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley
• juice and zest of one lemon
• ⅓ cup tahini
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 6 tbsp reserved chickpea liquid or water
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp salt
• pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
• the other half of your small red onion, minced (optional; see step 2 below)

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients except the other half of your red onion (if using) in a food processor, and whip everything together. You may not want to add in all the olive oil and reserved chickpea liquid/water from the very start; instead, add it in gradually as you pulse. If the mixture is still looking too thick after all the liquids have been added, add more reserved chickpea liquid/water a little at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
2. Scoop hummus out into a bowl. If using the other half of your red onion, mix this in now with a spoon. (I feel that this touch makes the mixture even more reminiscent of falafel, but this addition is only recommended if you enjoy the taste of raw onions (as I do).)
3. Garnish with parsley if you’re being fancy, or not if you’re being lazy.

And that’s all there is to it! Thanks for joining me for this little milestone of internet culinary history. Now go off and make some falafel hummus for yourself and spread the word!

Until we eat again,

Willie

The Best Vegan Restaurants in Berlin (2012)

Okay.

Okay I know.

I haven’t blogged in a long, long time. But I’m back! In more than one sense, too, since I just returned from a month’s stay in the best gosh darn city in the world, Berlin. As long-time readers of this blog will remember, I took a similar vacation last summer, which I recounted in two blog posts last August. And as long-time readers of this blog with especially good memories will remember, I had only glowing things to say about Berlin’s vegan scene, which is rich, vibrant, and—I’m happy to report—only getting bigger and better. Indeed, many of my favourite food locales from this summer were places I didn’t even know about last year. So, for all you fellow travelers, here’s a fresh list of what I think are freshest vegan joints in Berlin.

Best of Berlin

1. Café V (Kreuzberg)

Without a doubt my favourite restaurant this time around was Café V. They serve fantastic food of all varieties, all at reasonable prices and with friendly and responsive service. On my first visit I had a tasty chickpea polenta dish with vegetables, and on my second visit, I ordered a wonderfully big garlic mushroom salad and split one of their vegan pizzas. The menu is a mix of vegetarian and vegan fare, but it’s all clearly marked and printed in both German and English. A must-try.

2. Kopps (Prenzlauer Berg)

If you’re looking for something a little more high-end, then Kopps is the place for you. An all-vegan, haute cuisine sort of joint, Kopps keeps to the most seasonal of ingredients and utilizes some fancy culinary techniques to put out plates that are beautiful and delicious. Their desserts and wine list are also fantastic. A full meal, including wine, dessert, and tip, will run you around €25.

3. Café Vux (Neukölln)

An honorable mention on last year’s list, this year I’m bumping it up to a decided favourite. Part of the reason is that I finally got to try their fantastic Sunday morning brunch buffet, a veritable plethora of tasty dips, breads, desserts, and vegetables dishes. But even if you can only make it there on a weekday afternoon, go. They always have wonderful sweets on offer and plenty of drink options to wake you up or cool you off, whatever the case may be.

4. Schiller Burger (Neukölln)

Schiller Burger (along with its next door sister establishments Schiller Backstube and Schiller Bar) was located right down the street from me this summer, but its veggie burger is worthy of a much longer trek. Housemade and wonderfully dressed, this definitely ranks as one of the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had (second only, perhaps, to the one at Blue Plate Diner in Edmonton). Their sweet potato fries are also spot on.

5. Tuk Tuk (Schöneberg)

Tuk Tuk, an Indonesian restaurant tucked away on a side street of Schöneberg, is not only vegan friendly but also just flat out friendly. Seriously, I’ve never seen such smiling waitstaff. But the food is what really made this place stand out for me. Granted, this was my first time having Indonesian food, but I feel confident recommending this place to all. Especially since Indonesian food hasn’t yet made much of an impact on the North American resto scene, it’s a good thing to experience if you’re somewhere else where it isn’t so rare.

Updates from Last Year

Lastly, I have a couple updates to my list from last year…

• CHIPPS, last year’s top pick for the best of Berlin has since scaled back their operations and are running out of only one location now. In addition, I wasn’t as impressed on my return visit this summer. They seem to have scaled back their vegan options, and to have gotten rid entirely of the potato rösti beet mash dish I adored so much. Oh well.
• Yorck52, another one of last year’s top picks, is now closed entirely.
• Nil is still awesome, cheap, and, as I found out this summer, has three locations, one each in Neukölln, Kreuzberg, and Friedrichshain!

Though I only returned from Berlin days ago, I am already looking forward to when I next return. I cannot recommend this city more, even if you don’t care about vegan restaurants. But if you do, enjoy it: you’ll be in paradise.

Until we eat again,

Willie