Cooking with the Schaffers

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[youtube id=”fgGiD-w31gM”]   by Sophie Gayot I first met husband and wife chefs Charlie and Kathleen Schaffer when they catered a movie premiere I attended. Not only was I impressed with their falafel, but I learned their cooking had also pleased many celebs both in Hollywood (Barbra Streisand, Eddie Murphy, Martin Scorsese, Kate Beckinsale, Julie Andrews) and elsewhere (Martha Stewart, Heidi Klum, Tom Brokaw). They even cooked for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who probably didn’t know the two former busboys first met while working at the Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden in New York City. I decided to visit them in their Venice, California kitchen, where the couple specializing in sustainable handmade food showed me how to make their baked beet falafel. Watch the video recipe, the first ever posted on GAYOT.com, and follow the printed recipe below. You’ll be glad you did!   For more information on Schaffer Genuine Foods, go to their website.
 
 
BEET FALAFEL
  • 1 lb. beets, ground in food processor
  • 3 cups chickpeas
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 1 cup onions, minced
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 2 cups Panko
  • ¼ cup parsely, chopped
  • cup honey
  • 2 tsp. Moroccan spice
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp. lemon zest
Preparations:
  1. sauté onions, garlic, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp. Moroccan spice, 1 tsp. salt.
  2. cool.
  3. in food processor: grind 1 lb. beets, empty into large bowl.
  4. purée chickpeas with 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice empty into beets.
  5. combine all of the other ingredients; Panko, spice, honey, lemon zest, parsely, eggs, salt & pepper to taste.
  6. use 1 oz. scoop to form balls onto sheet tray wrap and keep cold until frying.
  7. roll in additional panko before frying.
Hempseed Tahini Dressing
  • 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ½ cup hempseeds
  • ¼ cup tahini paste
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. garlic
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. harissa
Preparations:
combine all ingredients in vitaprep mix until smooth   You can click on each photo to enlarge. All photos by Sophie Gayot.