Falafel Pita with Tahini Drizzle

Serves 4

Time 25 minutes plus soaking

Ingredients

Falafels

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked 8–12 hours, drained (NOT cooked)

1 small onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves

1 cup fresh parsley

1 cup fresh coriander

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp baking soda

1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus for frying 

1-2 tbsp wholemeal or chickpea flour (only if needed)

1 tsp sea salt

Black pepper

Tahini Lemon Sauce

½ cup tahini

3-4 tbsp lemon juice

¼ cup cold water

1 garlic clove, grated

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

½ tsp salt

To Serve

4 wholemeal pita breads

2 cups shredded cos or rocket

1 cucumber, diced

1 punnet cherry tomatoes, chopped

Pickled red onion

Fresh herbs (mint + parsley)

Avocado slices

Method

Add soaked chickpeas, onion, garlic, parsley and coriander to your food processor. Add ground cumin, ground coriander, salt, pepper and baking soda. Pulse until the texture resembles fine couscous — textured, not smooth. Don’t overprocess.

Add 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and pulse briefly. Test a small spoonful of the mix and squeeze it together. It should hold together. If it’s too wet, sprinkle in a tbsp of flour. If too crumbly, add a tsp more extra virgin olive oil. Cover with cling wrap and chill the mixture for 30 minutes to firm up.

When ready to cook, shape the mixture into 16–18 small balls or patties.

Heat a frying pan and add enough extra virgin olive oil to come up 3-4mm on the sides of the pan. Once the oil is hot (test with a crumb of the mixture – it should sizzle), add the falafels (without crowding the pan so the oil stays hot). Cook the falafels for 3–4 mins, tossing them in the pan regularly until golden all over. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon onto a kitchen towel. Repeat with the remaining falafels.

Whisk tahini and lemon juice. Add cold water gradually until smooth and drizzly. Add garlic, extra virgin olive oil and salt. Adjust lemon/water as needed for taste and consistency.

Warm the pita breads briefly in a heated dry frying pan. Spoon a little tahini sauce onto the base, then layer avocado slices, shredded cos or rocket, the cooked falafels, cucumber, tomatoes, pickled red onion, a small handful of fresh herbs, and drizzle a little more tahini over the top.