Green Falafels

Mix up traditional falafels by adding fresh broccoli and green herbs for added flavour and a moist texture. Serve them in a salad bowl or make your own falafel wraps.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup broccoli

• 1 cup chickpeas

• 1/2 brown onion

• 2 garlic cloves

• ½ cup coriander

• ½ cup parsley

• 3-4 tbsp plain flour

• 2 tsp bicarb soda

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1 1/2 tsp cumin

• 1 1/2  tsp coriander

• ½ cup sesame seeds

• Vegetable oil for frying

Tahini sauce:

• 1 tbsp tahini

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 3 tbsp Greek yogurt

Quick red onion pickles:

• 1 red onion thinly sliced

• ½ cup water

• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

• 1 ½ tbsp caster sugar 

Serve with:

• 1 cucumber thinly sliced

• 2 fresh beetroot grated, medium size

• 2 handful fresh spinach leaves

• 4 lavosh bread

METHOD:

1. Combine all of the falafel ingredients except for the sesame seeds and vegetable oil into a food processor, and blitz until it comes together into a smooth paste.

2. Put the vegetable oil into a medium sized pot, and fill to 4-5cm high. Allow to warm up on a medium heat. Be careful not to have the heat too high.

3. Spread out the sesame seeds onto a plate. Using your hands, roll a ball around the size of a tablespoon of falafel mixture. Gently roll it in the sesame seeds to coat, and reshape if necessary.

4. Flatten the ball slightly and drop one in to the heated oil. If the oil doesn't bubble up around the edge, wait a few more minutes until it reaches a higher temp.

5. Add a couple of falafel at a time, but don’t over crowd the pot. Give the pot a gentle shake to ensure the balls are evenly cooking. Once they look golden brown on one side, gently flip them over with a slotted spoon to cook the other side (3-4 minutes on each side). If the balls fall apart, add a little more flour.

6. Once cooked, remove them and place them onto a plate covered in absorbent kitchen paper. Repeat the cooking process until all the falafels are cooked.

To make the quick pickles:

Combine the water, vinegar and sugar into a small saucepan on medium heat while stirring. Once the sugar has dissolved, pour the hot liquid over the thinly sliced red onions and set aside to pickle.

To make the tahini sauce:

Combine the ingredients into a small bowl. Stir to completely combine.

To serve: 

Serve the green falafels with a good drizzle of the tahini sauce over the top in a bowl with the spinach leaves, grated fresh beetroot, cucumber and the lavosh bread to the side to roll your own wrap.

Serves: 4

Prep / cook time: 35-40 minutes

Recipe, styling and photography by Bonnie Coumbe. Visit her site here & Instagram here.