EASY HEALTHY FALAFELS

Easy healthy falafels image

Pair John Torode's easy falafels with soft flatbreads, well-spiced humous and crunchy pickles for a magnificent meze of a lunch, or a shareable starter

Provided by John Torode

Time 35m

Yield makes 16

Number Of Ingredients 15

Ingredients

250g dried chickpeas or dried split broad beans
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 garlic cloves
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 leek, roughly chopped
1 celery stick , roughly chopped
1 small chilli, roughly chopped (deseeded if you don't like it too hot)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp sumac
good handful chopped coriander
good handful chopped parsley
80g gram flour
100ml vegetable oil
houmous, tabbouleh and pickled red onion & radish (see goes well with), flatbreads, shop-bought or see goes well with (optional)

Steps:

Soak the chickpeas in cold water for 8 hrs, or overnight.
Drain the chickpeas and pulse with the bicarb in a food processor until roughly chopped. Remove 3/4 of the mixture and set aside.
Add the garlic, vegetables, spices and herbs to the remaining mixture in the processor and purée to a paste. Stir the paste into the rough purée of chickpeas, add the gram flour, season and mix well.
Heat oven to 110C/90C fan/gas 1/4. Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add some of the oil. Use your hands to form the mixture into patties (there should be enough to make about 16). Fry for 2 mins each side until crisp. Keep in a warm oven while you fry the remainder of the mixture, continuing to add a little oil to the pan with each batch. Serve wrapped in flatbreads, if you like, alongside the houmous, tabbouleh and pickled red onion & radish.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 139 calories, Fat 7 grams fat, SaturatedFat 1 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 11 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 1 grams sugar, Fiber 3 grams fiber, Protein 5 grams protein, Sodium 0.1 milligram of sodium