Falafel

with hummus & tahini sauce

Falafel

2 (400g/tin) tins of chickpeas
1 (400g/tin) tins of mixed beans
1 lime, juiced
4 cloves of garlic
1 onion, diced
1 cup coriander, coursely chopped
2 cups parsley, coursely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground allspice
4 Tbs plain flour

1. Toast the cumin and allspice in a pan with a teaspoon of oil, set aside.
2. Blend the chickpeas, mixed beans, onion and garlic in a food processor until just combined (not until it's pasty).
3. Add the coriander, parsley, lime juice and the toasted spices into the mixture and continue to blend until the ingredients are combined (if there are still some small chunks, don't worry, it will add texture- you don't want it to be a paste like consistency). Season and taste with salt and pepper.
4. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of the flour.
5. Refrigerate for half-an-hour.
6. Heat a fry-pan with about 3 tablespoons of oil. Meanwhile, spoon a heaped tablespoon of the falafel mix into the palms of your hands and roll it in the remaining flour and press it into a patty like shape (about 1.5 cm thick) and place into fry-pan.
7. Fry the falafel until lightly browned on each side. Remove from pan and onto a plate with absorbent paper towels.

Hummus

1 (400g/tin) tins of chickpeas
4 Tbs of tahini
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Drain 1/4 of the liquid from the tin of chickpeas and blend in a food processor with the garlic cloves until an almost smooth consistency (I keep some of the liquid from the tinned chickpeas because it allows the mixture to become the right consistency, not too thick or runny, once the tahini is added).
2. Add the tahini and lime to the mix and blend until smooth.
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste (Note: since the liquid of the tinned chickpeas is already salted, you may find that you don't need to add any salt. Also if you find the mixture too salty, just add more lime juice. Since I like my food to have a zing to it, I sometimes use the juice of 1 lime).
4. Serve with a dash of olive oil over the top, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Tahini sauce

300g Greek yoghurt
1 Tbs tahini
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1/2 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and voila!

I would serve all of the above, with Lebanese bread cut into quarters, and slices of tomato, laid out in the middle of the table, so that people can help themselves and make their own mini wraps of falafel to their liking.

Big thanks to my besttie, Shanna (scenesofeunoia.com) for the great pictures!