Monday, October 18, 2010

Meatless Monday: Garbanzo Fritters and Cilantro Dip



Yes, I buy vegetable oil by the gallon. Some people may think that I'm always frying something, and I usually always am. Growing up in our Cuban household there was always a side dish of something fried, usually plantains, yuca or boniato but many times fritters.

For the Fritters:
15 oz canned garbanzo beans, drained
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 egg
1 tbsp all purpose flour

In a food processor or blender puree the garbanzo beans with the onion and garlic and egg, mix in the cumin and salt and cilantro. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the flour. Heat a skillet with about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil. Take a tablespoon of your mixture and form it into a small ball in the palm of your hand. Drop it into the oil and brown on all sides. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Do this in batches. It should yield 12-14 fritters.


For the Dip:
2 heaping tbsp mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp cilantro, minced
dash of lime juice

Mix these ingredients together.

9 comments:

  1. These look so good! I wonder if I could use my aebleskiver pan to make these?

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  2. HA HA Lyndsey, I don't know what an aebleskiver pan is, so I can't help you! LOL I think that you are very creative in the kitchen so if it seems like a good idea, then go for it!!

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  3. I.M.
    Use canola, peanut, or extra-light olive oil for deep-frying and pan-frying (I buy canola because it's the cheapest, pretty high in monounsaturated fat and has some omega 3's) it will significantly help with lowering your cholesterol (yes in my house we buy oil by the gallon and we almost always have some fried side, or end up frying something) btw I got my cholesterol checked it's 114 (yeah I know super LOW my HDL is 53 and LDL is 53 freaken crazy) mothers was 180 dads 200, Tata/ Grandma 160.

    We consume a lot of olive oil, you know the drill tomatoes, garlic, etc. seafood, but yeah also lots of pork and stuff just balance you know.

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  4. Nathan, I think you have the lowest cholesterol of anyone I know!
    I don't eat too much of the fried food I make. Since it's usually a side dish, and I cook for 4 to 7 people all the time, it's really just a bite or two.
    I use extra virgin olive oil in all my cooking, I even substitute it for butter. I hadn't thought of using the extra light for deep frying. It seems that olive oil is so expensive. I hate to waste it that way, but I'll look into it. Thanks for the tip.

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  5. yeah just try canola oil and see how u like it, I know there's been some controversy over it since it comes from rapeseed, but it's been modified to be low in uric acid so it's real different from rape oil so there shouldn't be a problem and plus it's no big deal it's not like our soy and corn crops haven't been genetically modified I don't see people complaining about using corn and soybean oil haha so yeah give it a shot :)

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  6. Ivonne, do these taste kind of like falafel? Just curious. Besitos desde lejos, pa' no contagiarte la gripe que tengo.

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  7. Yes Pedro, it is the basic recipe for falafel, but I used cilantro instead of parsley and I did not incorporate other spices such as tumeric or coriander which I am not familiar with. Also I opted for the cilantro dip instead of tahini.

    Get well soon! XOXO

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  8. Thanks for all of these wonderful recipes! My spouse is also Cuban and we live in the Midwest (Missouri). Where do you purchase your roots? Is there some place that ships them? We cannot find malanga or yucca anywhere.

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  9. Thanks for stopping by Anonymous, I have found that Meijer carries yuca, malanga and plantians. I don't know if this chain of stores is available in your area. I have occasionally found plantains at Walmart, and sometimes yuca at my local grocery, but malanga is hard to find. I've never ordered my roots online. I like to see what I'm buying in person.

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