2-Ingredient Pitas and New York.

One of may favorite things I've made here so far. Vegan Falafel Arayes are mini pitas stuffed with falafel and pan-fried until crispy. Also, I moved.

Dear Reader,

Please excuse my extended absence. I moved to New York! Writing used to be such a habit of mine and now it scares me a little bit. I loved documenting my culinary experience in India though, so why now document my move?

I flew from Atlanta to LGA in early March while my dad drove a U-Haul filled with my belongings and some of my grandma’s furniture. I brought my cat, Frank, with me on the plane which was one of the most interesting experiences of my life. I was late to my flight (which reminds me of one of my New Year’s resolutions…to become timely) and nervously sweating in the Security Screening line with an over-packed carry-on and a very talkative cat in a sack with a zipper.

I picked up two plastic trays and put my carry-on into one of them, and Frank in the other. I then removed that cat bag after realizing why that couldn’t work…cats don’t need to be screened like shoes and cosmetic bags.

TSA signaled me to return the cat bag to the bin.

I did.

TSA shook head. “Cat out, bag in,” TSA said.

I unzipped it, removed Frank, and flattened my bag, then walked through the full-body scanner, shoeless, while holding holding my cat like a child.

Surprisingly, this went well. But on the other side, as I balanced Frank on my shoulder while reassemble his body bag, he escaped and ran back into the security screening room.

We ended up making in though, and my first months in Brooklyn have been very interesting and incredible times.

I’m working for a food media company which has been a learning experience I’m growing to love (and another reason for me to follow through with my previously stated New Year’s resolution)

And I’m (kind of) around a lot of people I adore.

My kitchen is a one of my favorite spots in my apartment, and I break it in quite a bit on the weekends and days I work from home.

Most recently, I developed a recipe that I think is worth Substacking, for easy access to ingredients and a permanent place to live in text-form.

Vegan Falafel Arayes

@ballehurns2-ingredient pitas

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Arayes are Lebanese meat-stuffed pitas that recently gained popularity online (that’s how I discovered then, at least). They are thin, crispy, and although traditionally stuffed with beef, I’ve seen variations made with lamb, chicken, and inspired by a Big Mac. This version is smaller, in size and number of ingredients, and stuffed with juicy, herby falafel and dunked in vegan chipotle mayo.

Very good. Very easy. The pitas are made with just two-ingredients, and the dough highlights the sweet, caramel-ly flavor of roasted Japanese yams.

Let’s start with those first.

2-Ingredient Potato Pita Pockets

• 1 Japanese yam, roasted and peeled

• ~1 cup all-purpose flour, +1-2 tbsps for rolling

• 2 tsps olive oil

• Optional: Salt

Japanese yams are a lot easier to find in Brooklyn. I live right by a health food store that always has the best produce on display, which is where I bought mine. Good marketing makes me weak at the knees, and this shop displays all of their fresh groceries outside under dim, yellow light, perfectly stacked in wooden crates.

You can use any potato — from russet to purple — but I love the flavor of an oven-roasted Japanese yam versus a steamed one.

Once it’s cooked and cool, peel the skin off. Put the peeled potato in a bowl with 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and start mixing the two ingredients together by hand. You can add in a bit of salt, too. Gradually add in the remaining 1/2 cup flour until the dough barely sticks to your hand. Continue to knead for 3-5 minutes.

Pour a bit of olive oil into a small pinching bowl or onto a plate.

Sprinkle 1/2 tsps flour on a flat surface. Place a 1-1/2 inch piece of dough on the floured surface, and sprinkle a little more on top of the dough. Using a rolling pin or the side of a glass, roll out dough until flat and round (about 1/2 cm thick).

Dip your finger into the olive oil and rub in and around the center of the flattened dough. Collect the outer edges of dough and bring them to the center, pinching them together to form a ball and encasing the oil. Flip dough ball over, then roll it out to the same thickness once more. All pitas should be 3-4 inches wide, and 1/2 cm thick.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Preheat oven to 400F with your baking sheet inside.

Once preheated, remove baking sheet and assemble pitas.

Bake for 10 minutes, flip, and return to oven for another 5-10 minutes.

Vegan Falafel Filling

• 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained

• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

• 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

• 1-2 cloves garlic, finely diced

• 1/4 cup red onion, roughly diced

• 1 tbsp lime juice (about 1/2 lime)

• 1 tbsp water

• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

• 1 tsp fine sea salt

• 1 tsp black pepper

Blend Vegan Falafel Filling ingredients until roughly combined. You should see variation in texture of blended chickpeas (AKA: keep some chunky pieces in there).

Slice mini pitas in half and stuff with falafel.

In a medium-size pan, add oil and heat over medium-high heat.

Add 4-6 falafel-stuffed pita halves to your heated pan, and pan-fry until dark golden brown. I like to flip them on their sides and flatted them with the back of a spatula, too.

Mix ingredients for a quick Vegan Chipotle Mayo Dip.

• 1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise

• 1 tbsp lime juice

• 1 tsp dry chipotle seasoning

• 1 tsp fresh parsley, finely minced

Serve with love, and hot!

╰┈➤ ✎ ༊*·˚ ˗ˏˋ ´ˎ˗ ☄ ˋ°•*⁀➷ ·˚ ༘ *ೃ༄ .ೃ࿐ *ੈ✩‧₊˚

Talk soon,

Halle