Lunchtime can be a little strange around here. Myself and my youngest don't really have a set lunchtime and more often that not I can be found with a bowl of cereal instead of anything more substantial! Alfie is an afternoon grazer and would much prefer to just have raisins for lunch and enjoy a big meal at the end of the day. It also vastly depends on time. My days can be a blur of activity and fitting in time to prep, make and eat lunch can sometimes be one step too far but it is always nice to have a go to meal that is easy, fast and of course delicious. Perhaps you are thinking that falafel is not so quick and easy- I beg to differ!
First of all you are thinking that this recipe requires overnight soaking, how on Earth can that be a quick lunch? You have got me there, this is not something you can have on a plate in 10 minutes from thinking, I quite fancy a falafel. But hear me out, I know when my week looks crazy most of the time, I know when my diary is full every day and it's so full there are extra post it notes stuck on each page with extra bits that would not fit in my diary, so I plan ahead. On a Sunday evening just pop the chickpeas in some water to soak overnight. Come Monday they just need a quick blitz in the food processor and then I push the mix into a plastic tub and stash it in the fridge. Then for the next few days I simply dip my spoon in, make a few little balls and fry them up.
I love them and my boys love them too- the perfect fridge standby!
Perfect on their own or wrapped in a warm pitta bread and hopefully topped with some of these amazing pickled radish.
First of all you are thinking that this recipe requires overnight soaking, how on Earth can that be a quick lunch? You have got me there, this is not something you can have on a plate in 10 minutes from thinking, I quite fancy a falafel. But hear me out, I know when my week looks crazy most of the time, I know when my diary is full every day and it's so full there are extra post it notes stuck on each page with extra bits that would not fit in my diary, so I plan ahead. On a Sunday evening just pop the chickpeas in some water to soak overnight. Come Monday they just need a quick blitz in the food processor and then I push the mix into a plastic tub and stash it in the fridge. Then for the next few days I simply dip my spoon in, make a few little balls and fry them up.
I love them and my boys love them too- the perfect fridge standby!
FOOLPROOF FALAFEL
INGREDIENTS
- 225g dried Chickpeas soaked overnight
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley or coriander, but I much prefer parsley in my falafel
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- Canola Oil (or other vegetable oil) for frying
METHOD
- Drain chickpeas and place in a food processor with the salt, baking powder, cumin, coriander, cayenne, garlic, parsley and lemon juice. Blitz in the food processor until finely chopped but with some texture. If you think it looks very dry and wont hold its shape add a little more lemon juice.
- Place it all in a plastic tub and press it down. You can use it straight away or leave for a few hours for the flavours to develop. Simply use what you need and keep the rest in the fridge.
- Heat a couple of cm's of oil in a deep frying pan over a medium heat.
- Shape mixture into small balls and fry until golden brown on all sides. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on a little kitchen towel.
Perfect on their own or wrapped in a warm pitta bread and hopefully topped with some of these amazing pickled radish. 
