Green Falafel
‘Green’ falafel because these little morsels are packed with delicious fresh herbs that make them so. I am working on a ‘wild’ version using foraged greens - but for now let us stick with some cultivated options as a staple. You must soak the chickpeas so plan ahead. I have tried lots of different combinations of legumes, including tinned ones when I forget the soaking and am feeling impatient, and I always come back to plain soaked chickpeas as my favourite for flavour and texture. The amount of herbs mean they are quite high in moisture content, and therefore not crumbly and dry. Aside from the planning, they are very easy to make and an excellent healthy vegan/vegetarian option. They freeze well so you can make them when you have a quiet day at home and keep them saved for a day you need some cheering up. I am stocking up my freezer (in a non hoarding type of way) with home cooked treats, as life is about to get busy for me. These were first on my list.
I serve them in a pita bread or wrap with a healthy serve of grilled aubergine and yoghurt sauce and a dash of fermented chilli sauce. Perhaps the real gem here is the yoghurt sauce that I pair with many of my legume dishes. A sauce shared with me many years ago by a friend that has well stood the test of time. A firm favourite.
As a spread for a dinner, I would add a simple salad of chopped cucumber and tomato seasoned with salt, lemon juice and finely chopped parsley.
Green Falafel
Makes approx 20 small balls
Ingredients
1 cup dried whole chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water - they will absorb the water as they soak so make sure they are well covered
large bunch each of parsley, coriander and mint
1 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 flat tsp baking soda
peanut oil for shallow frying
For the grilled aubergine and yogurt sauce
1 cup thick Greek yoghurt
1 large aubergine (eggplant), sliced length ways and thinly (3-4mm thickness - I use a mandoline) and drizzled generously with olive oil. Don’t worry about salting and draining them. They don’t need it for this recipe.
sprinkle of sea salt to taste
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients for the falafel except the baking soda and peanut oil in a food processor until the mix forms a sticky ball in your hand. You want some texture not a puree, however too much texture and it wont hold together so pause your machine and check a few times. Once you have made these once or twice you will be able to see when you have hit the correct consistency. Once the texture is correct, place into a bowl and mix through the baking soda. It can sit like this until you are ready to fry, including covered overnight in the fridge if you are planning ahead and wish to eat them freshly cooked the next day.
Shallow fry the falafel - first heat the oil (I use peanut oil for this purpose) and then take consistent sized spoon fulls of your mix. I use a soup spoon and like them on the smaller side. For many reasons I prefer making mine into discs as opposed to balls - I find them easier to fry and need less oil in my pan. Each to their own. Because of the moisture content they will spit when frying so be mindful of safety when cooking. Cook each side until nicely browned. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towel or equivalent.
For the grilled aubergine and yoghurt sauce - first grill the aubergine slices - aubergine really must be grilled thoroughly. I always test that each slice is cooked properly by piercing it in its thickest bits. There should be no resistance and you want some colour from the grill lines. When cooked, cut into rough strips approximately 1 inch wide and mix through the yoghurt and salt. Taste and adjust salt as required.
Serve with fresh pita bread pockets or wraps.
If you are reheating I suggest thawing if frozen and then placing in a pre-heated oven (150 degrees C) for 10 - 15 minutes.
