Chickpea Fritters in Spiced Tomato Sauce

This week we experienced the true essence of the food matters project - we cooked a meal that was totally random and that we wouldn't have tried otherwise.  Lena chose Braised Chickpea Fritters and Vegetables from Mark Bittman's Food Matters Cookbook and we stuck pretty close to the original recipe.

We are huge falafel fans (see here and here) and we were intrigued by trying chickpea fritters in a new context.  The fritters were very similar to falafel - soaked chickpeas with herbs and spices ground into a coarse paste and then fried.  However, when paired with an Ethiopian-spiced tomato sauce they tasted completely different.  

The tomato sauce (part canned tomatoes part homemade marinara canned in the fall) was filled with ginger, garlic, onions, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, and allspice.  We added diced potatoes for extra heartiness but omitted the chard that Bittman calls for.  Instead we served a cabbage and kohlrabi slaw made from our share of our newly-joined CSA. 

Click over to Mrs. Garlic Head for Bittman's complete recipe and spice up your night with this unique meal!