Falafel Pistachios

By: The Food Hunter

Falafel is a Middle Eastern dish made from mashed chickpeas or fava beans that are flavored with traditional spices, then formed into balls and deep-fried. Take those same familiar spices, mix them with pistachios, and you have a seriously delicious and addictive pop-in-your-mouth snack.

Falafel Pistachios
(adapted from Epicurious) 
(printable recipe)
 
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon dried ground basil
1 tablespoon dried ground marjoram
1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary
2 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
2 cups garlic cloves,thinly sliced
2 cups olive oil
crushed red pepper, depending on your taste
4 cups unsalted pistachios in the shell
1 teaspoon salt

Combine the first six ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Pour olive oil into a medium-size heavy skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add the garlic slices and cook until light golden brown. Remove garlic and reserve the cooking oil.

Add the crushed red pepper to the oil. Set over medium-high heat. Add the pistachios and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the spice mixture and salt and stir until the pistachios are coated and heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature.