When people won’t eat certain things, cooking can be a challenge!
Not everyone at our table likes to eat the same things.
For the cook this can be a challenge. This means making extra dishes so that everyone is happy.When I first became vegan, I sometimes made three versions of one dishes, so three meals. One day I made three lasagnas for the one meal – a vegan one, a non-vegan one with lots of chunky veggies, and one non-vegan but very plain where all the veggies where ground up and hidden in the sauce.
But this is never the case with Falafel.
Everyone in the family likes Falafel. The best part is you can then assemble the plate or fill a pita bread with your individual choice of salads and sauces.I like it with as much as the pita can hold then lather it with Tahini sauce and plenty of hot sauce.
RECIPE
Falafel
To make authentic Falafel you will need to use uncooked chickpeas which have been soaked a good few hours. If you forgot to do this or have decided at the last minute to make falafel you can boil them for about 10 minutes, allow to cool then use them.
Should make approx. 20 Falafels, normally enough for 6 people.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups of dry chickpeas (approx. 500g)1 onion – finely chopped3 cloves of garlic – chopped1 cup of breadcrumbs1 to 2 cups of fresh parsley – chopped2 tbsp of flour2 tbsp of corn starch (optional)2 tbsp of ground cuminA pinch or two of chilli flakes1 tsp of sea salt1 cup of vegetable oil for frying METHOD
1 – Mix everything together. Yes, it is that easy!2 – Reduce to crumb size in a food processor. It is easier do this in two or three batches.3 – Taste the mixture, it may need a little more salt4 – Make a small ball with your hands and squeeze well, if it holds together, perfect. If not, add a little water until it hold together.5 – Heat the oil in a small pot. You want the oil hot, it should sizzle as soon as you drop one in it.6 – Cook them until just browning, turning once and place on paper towel.
Falafel are often stuffed into pita bread cut in half to create a pocket. Fill it with chopped lettuce, chopped red cabbage, slices of tomato and cucumber, a little hummus, a good drizzle of tahini sauce and as much hot sauce as you can handle.It can also be a plate with a small mountain of salad and the falafel on top.
NOTE: The Tahini and hot sauces are easy to make. You can find the recipes for these in your copy of Hungry Soul – How to cook 100% vegan … You do have a copy don’t you?