Kajsa Alger
Regional Executive Chef
Porto’s Bakery & Cafe

Falafel-Battered Onion Rings with Kalamata Olive Honey

Recipe courtesy of Kajsa Alger
Sponsor: National Honey Board

Servings: 8

Ingredients

Kalamata Olive Honey:

• 1 ½ c honey (such as buckwheat), at room temperature
• 1 c pitted Kalamata olives, finely chopped
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp Sriracha

Onion Rings:

• 16 oz canned chickpeas, drained
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 2 Tbsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 1 oz fresh parsley, rough chopped
• 1 oz fresh cilantro, rough chopped
• ½ jalapeño, sliced
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
• 8 ½ oz all-purpose flour, plus more for dredging
• 2 c soda water
• 4 or 5 jumbo yellow onions, sliced into ½-in rings

Directions

For the Kalamata Olive Honey:

1. Place the honey in a small bowl.
2. Add the chopped olives, paprika and Sriracha. Stir until well combined.
3. Place in a clean container and hold at room temperature for up to 2 days.

For the Onion Rings:

1. Place the chickpeas, paprika, cumin, thyme, parsley, cilantro, jalapeño, baking soda and salt in a food processor.
2. Puree until smooth, stopping halfway to scrape down the sides. If the mixture seems slightly dry at this point, you can add a couple of Tbsp of water to ease the process.
3. Once it is a smooth paste, move the chickpea mixture to a large bowl. The mixture will taste salty at this point because it contains the salt for the entire recipe; it will mellow with the addition of other ingredients.
4. Add the flour and fold into the chickpea mixture with a rubber spatula so that there are no clumps.
5. Slowly start adding the soda water, a little at a time, while stirring to incorporate with the spatula.
6. Once the mixture starts to loosen, switch to a whisk and continue to stir while adding the remainder of the soda water. In the end, the mixture should resemble a loose pancake batter, similar in texture to a beer batter. It will be bright green and the salt should be balanced at this point. If the mixture is thick, it is ok to add a small amount of water to get to the right consistency.
7. Cover and refrigerate.

For Service:

1. Preheat a fryer to 350°F.
2. Per order, dredge 10 onion rings in flour; shake off the excess.
3. Dip each onion ring in batter and then, using tongs, drop into a fryer basket sitting in the hot oil.
4. Continue until all rings are in the oil. You may need to hold another basket on top to help submerge the rings under the oil.
5. Cook for 1–2 minutes, or until the rings are golden brown (they will still have a green tint to them).
6. Remove and drain on paper towels.
7. To serve, place the onion rings on a plate. Serve with a generous side of the Kalamata Olive Honey.

Chef Notes

Hold the onions and the batter cold.

For best results, make the batter as close to service time as possible.

The honey will keep nicely for up to a week and even gets better the longer it sits.

Project Management: Summit F&B
Photography: Carlos Garcia // Food Styling: Peg Blackley