Fattal's falafel, Corrado's 2-for-$10 wines, wild salmon medley and more

One of my favorite dishes growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., was my Syrian Jewish mother's okra, which she prepared with tomatoes and a tamarind sauce. Okra was the meal of the day on Thursday in the cafe at Fattal's in Paterson.   

Syrian butcher, baker, grocer, jeweler and falafel maker -- Fattal's in the South Paterson section of Paterson is all of that and more. One big plus is that the store is set back in a spacious parking lot.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The quickest way to get into an argument with the head cook in the Syrian cafe at Fattal's is to ask whether he ever makes his falafel only with fava beans.

"That's how the Egyptians make it," I said on Thursday, referring to the wonderful  ta'amia (falafel) I enjoyed many years ago on a trip to Cairo.

"And that's how my mother, who was from Aleppo, used to make it."

"I'm from Aleppo, too," the cook said firmly, adding that using only fava beans produces a falafel that is too dark inside.

So, I ordered nine falafels to go, and looking at the takeout menu later, I saw he grinds both chickpeas and fava beans with parsley, garlic and spices before frying them.

Fattal's falafel are sold in threes for a little over 40 cents each.

They are bigger, lighter and tastier than the falafel from Salah Edin, a Middle Eastern restaurant on the next block, where a bag of five falafel are only $1.

Fattal's falafel also reheats better at home.

The menu in Fatal's cafe resembles that of a full-service restaurant. 

Syrian-style pies with za'atar and other toppings, sandwiches, salads, soup, hot appetizers and a meal of the day are available for takeout or to eat there.

In Fattal's grocery section, I picked up 20 cans of Al Shark-brand Moroccan Sardines in Tomato Sauce (99 cents each), and a half-dozen large Spinach and Cheese Pies ($8.99).

From the spice counter, I got a small container of za'atar, a dried thyme mixture ($5.99 a pound), and a larger one of crushed Aleppo red pepper ($6.99 a pound). 

Crushed red Aleppo pepper from Fattal's ($6.99 a pound) provides a mildly spicy accent on egg and fish dishes, hummus and so much more.

On Friday, I threw together falafel sandwiches at home with Fatal's pocket bread and hummus from a can, adding garlic, lime juice, extra-virgin olive oil and ground cumin.

Details

Fattal's, 975 Main St., Paterson; 1-973-742-7125. Open 7 days, Syrian cafe, parking lot.

Website: Syrian delights since 1968

Corrado's Family Affair is a large, full-service ethnic supermarket near the Clifton-Paterson border once known for low prices.

Red, white and sparkling wines from Italy and France were 2 for $10 in Corrado's liquor store. I bought six bottles of red wine, including a ventoux from France.

Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli and Rigatoni from Italy were $1.69 each at Corrado's (16 ounces) -- 40 cents more than at ShopRite in Paramus.

That's a good price, but Corrado's Tomato Basil and Arrabiata Pasta Sauces both contain added sugar.

A pint of blueberries from Argentina was $3.99. I did find peaches for 99 cents a pound, my only purchase besides wine.

Among the non-food items at Corrado's are these rugs, which were displayed outside.

Details

Corrado's Family Affair, 1578 Main Ave., Clifton; 1-973-340-0628. Open 7 days. Website: Corrado's

A medley of fresh wild coho salmon I prepared at home with a fillet from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro ($9.99 a pound) includes chopped kale, cherry tomatoes, pitted black olives and grated cheese.

I grilled the salmon skin side down on the stove top for 4 minutes before placing the serving pieces in a large pan that held the other ingredients, a generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lime juice and seasonings. The medley was ready after 7 minutes in a preheated 400-degree oven.

You can buy a ready-to-cook fish-and-vegetable medley, marinated Icelandic fish and prepared seafood at The Fish Dock, 219A Closter Dock Road in Closter (1-201-564-7939; closed Sundays and Mondays). Here, I had leftovers of my wild salmon medley with organic brown rice and oven-roasted sweet green peppers from our garden.

A 2-pound bag of pre-washed Chopped Kale was only $3.89 at the Costco Wholesale Business Center in Hackensack.

This much kale with Costco's Organic No-Salt Seasoning (21 spices and other ingredients from around the world), sauteed in olive and sesame oils in a 10-inch nonstick pan ...

... produces this much kale as a side dish.

Also at the Costco Business Center, 80 S. River St. in Hackensack, I found a package of frozen Alaskan Pollock Burgers, which join a longtime favorite, Alsakan Salmon Burgers. The pollock burgers also are made from fillets of wild-caught fish, according to the Trident Seafood Corp. A dozen salmon burgers were $13.99 and a dozen pollock burgers were $11.49.

The ingredients of the Alaskan Pollock Burger includes 2% or less of sugar. I cooked one in the oven and slipped the burger into a warm Fattal's pocket bread with salad greens, tomato and Dijon mustard. Just wonderful.

Fresh wild Alaskan salmon with roasted green salsa and garden herbs

Fresh Wild Copper River Sockeye Salmon with Roasted Salsa Verde and chopped herbs from the garden.

Editor's note: Cooking at home gives you the most control over what you're eating, and pricey ingredients like fresh wild salmon can be put on the table for surprisingly little when compared to a restaurant.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

If you have the makings of a salad and a leftover side dish, such as organic brown rice, you can put a wild-salmon dinner on the table in 10 minutes for about $5 a person.

That's what I did on Tuesday night after my wife came home with a 1.5-pound fillet of Fresh Wild Copper River Sockeye Salmon from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack ($13.99 a pound).

Costco's price for this wonderful Alaskan salmon dropped $1 a pound since it first appeared at the end of May.

I cut the fillet into five serving pieces, and added a little sea salt from a grinder. Then, they went on a pre-heated grill pan for 10 minutes.

I could have poached the fillets in Whole Foods Market's 365 Everyday Value Roasted Salsa Verde, but decided to heat up the contents of a 16-ounce jar separately and spoon it over the salmon, when I plated it, and over the side dish of organic brown rice.

A fresh 1.5 pound skin-on fillet of wild salmon was $13.99 a pound on Tuesday at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, a drop of $1 per pound.

While the salmon was grilling, I warmed up MSG-free Roasted Salsa Verde with fresh lime juice. Whole Foods Market in Paramus sells the medium-spicy green salsa in 16- and 24-ounce jars.

The serving pieces of salmon spend 8 minutes to 10 minutes on a pre-heated grill pan sprayed with oil. My All-Clad grill pan straddles two burners and I turn the heat on both of them to medium.

Another home-cooked dish is Cabbage and Salt Fish with a side of okra and Valentina Mexican Hot Sauce (Black Label).

More home cooking

Want to know what you're eating?

Buy the ingredients yourself and prepare them at home.

Two Costco Wholesale organic eggs -- fried in olive oil sunny side up -- with leftover organic brown rice, a great bread substitute. I seasoned them with Aleppo pepper, a spicier form of paprika; and chopped parsley, oregano and mint from the garden.

The chewy Armenian lavash I brought home from a new Hackensack restaurant, Lavash City Grill & Bakery, makes a wonderful snack spread with no-fat Greek yogurt and za'atar thyme mixture. I store the flat, unleavened, preservative-free bread in the refrigerator.

For breakfast, I supplemented a simple egg-white omelet I made at home with leftover falafel, tahini, muhammara and hummus from restaurants.

The last piece of wild salmon, right out of the fridge, made a great light dinner with a pile of organic greens dressed in Spanish extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

An organic-egg omelet using ingredients from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, including reduced-fat Swiss cheese and Mexican salsa. I had it for breakfast with leftover organic brown rice, fresh chopped callaloo, bottom left; and leftover Chinese broccoli with fresh garlic from Lotus Cafe in Hackensack.

An unusual breakfast in South Paterson

Image via Wikipedia

I dashed out this morning for bread, sardines, canned hummus, spinach pie and Lebanese extra-virgin olive oil from Fattal's Syrian Bakery in Paterson, then went looking for breakfast.


I drove a few blocks to Luna Bakery & Sweets (1071 Main St.), and asked for a Turkish breakfast (thick bread, hard-boiled egg, cheese, tomato and cucumber, and strong tea). 

Not wanting to turn a customer away, the Syrian baker served me tea; strained yogurt with nuts, which I ate with a spoon; a round, thin, flat bread spread with the thyme-based za'atar mixture; dough and cheese baked into a boat shape, and a pizza made with Syrian and mozzarella cheeses that was dusted with mint and a little red pepper. 


There was enough food for two and I took a few items home. After I told the baker my parents were from Aleppo, he said he was a native and described the many changes he's witnessed. Change also was evident around his business in South Paterson, he said, but he believes the quality of his dough has kept him afloat.


Across the street, the shuttered Syrian bakery Mondial is getting a makeover and a stylish, brick restaurant called Grill House is expected to open soon. On Getty Avenue, near Main Street, a storefront that once claimed to have the best falafel sandwich in the world has closed.



At Fattal's (975-77 Main St.), the sardines from Morocco and canned Lebanese hummus can't be beat (99 cents a can). Three liters of La Ziza-brand Lebanese extra-virgin olive oil rang up at $17.49. Six of Fattal's long, sesame-seeded spinach pies are $8.99, and freeze beautifully.


I turned off Getty at East Railway Avenue to check out produce in the Farmers' Market. But I ended up buying a small dogwood tree at Brothers Produce for $10, and driving home. 

(Photo: Aleppo, Syria)