Falafel like the Marais does it

OK, we all know I went to Paris last year and I think we also all know that I stalked Ina Garten at all her favorite haunts. What is lesser known - except those with me on the trip - is that I developed an obsession with falafel pita sandwiches in the Marais.

I was expecting them to be awesome from the reviews in Let's Go: Paris, and they were. We visited two famous stands in the Marais, only a block away from each other on the Rue des Rosiers: L'As du Fallafel and Chez H'anna. Both serve pita sandwiches stuffed with amazing falafel, sauces, chopped veggies, and fried eggplant. We couldn't decide which one we liked better, but I knew that when I came back stateside, I wanted to make some for myself.

I finally got to do that with Diane this weekend. We had a Paris trip reunion and ate falafel sandwiches, cheese platters, croissants, apple tarts, and Diane's chocolate truffles. We also drank kir. Surprise surprise.

The inspiration behind the falafel pitas came from this website, which has a recipe like L'As du Falafel. First, I shredded some red cabbage and soaked it in a vinegar & oil mixture. I usually don't buy cabbage except for the bunny, which I give him piece by piece, so this was my first time cutting into one. Look at this beauty:


I was already getting excited. Diane chopped some cucumbers and I chopped some baby tomatoes, then we made roasted red pepper hummus (Ina's hummus with some of my homemade roasted red peppers thrown in). Diane was a fan of this the last time she tried it, so I wanted to show her how easy it is.

We made baba ghanoush, which is basically like hummus except with roasted eggplant instead of chickpeas. Diane did not enjoy the shape of the roasted eggplant, and since this blog is PG, I will not repeat it here. But it was funny.

The last bit was the falafel itself, which we made from scratch based on the recipe, but using a blender instead of a food processor. It smelled enough like falafel, but unfortunately it didn't take well to frying. So Diane and I baked the rest and used those instead.

We served the whole thing, layered in a whole wheat pita pocket half. Just look at this mess.


It was very, very good. Not as good as the Marais, but close enough to remember it by.

One last thing from the Paris dinner that I wanted to post was my beautiful cheese platter. I got every single piece from the Daley Center farmers' market, and it turned out beautifully.


The cheeses are, from left to right, a bleu-striped Brie, a smoked Gouda, and an Amish Swiss cheese. Obviously we have concord grapes and a nectarine, and at top a sliced pear. What a beautiful, beautiful plate. Mike and I liked the Brie, Dave and Diane liked the Swiss, and Rob liked the Gouda. So I guess I really did have something for everyone.

Oh, Paris. How I miss you.