This week's #virtualsupperclub challenge is to celebrate the not-so-humble chick pea. I use chickpeas often, mostly in salads and in stews and of course you cannot beat making your own hummus.
So, I wanted to give myself a new challenge this week and try something I have not made before. I don't eat a lot of fried food so this has put me off making falafel in the past. However, yesterday was Friday and even in quarantine, we all need to indulge a little.
Here is my delicious recipe for home-made falafel with tzatziki, warm pita bread and salad.
Ingredients
For the Falafel
500 grams tinned/canned chickpeas
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 good handful of fresh parlsey, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
Good grind of pepper
2 tablespoons flour
Vegtable oil for frying
For the Tzatziki
2 cups Greek yogurt
1/2 cucumber, seeds removed and grated
2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
1/2 garlic clove, grated
2 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 LARGE handfull of fresh dill and mint, finely chopped
To Serve
Pita breads
Red onion, finely sliced
Cucumber, finely sliced
Lettuce, finely sliced
Tomato, sliced, salted & drizzled with olive oil
Method
First get your food processor ready, fitted with a steel blade. Drain the chickpeas in a colander and add them to the food processor. Next add the grated garlic, onion, cumin, coriander, parsely, salt, pepper and flour. Whizz up on a medium-high speed until all ingredients are combined. The mixture should not be completely smooth and should have a slightly chunky texture.
Carefully remove the blade from the processor and give the mxiture and good stir with a spatula to make sure all the ingredients are combined. Get a plate ready and then begin to form the mixture (with clean hands) into ping-pong sized balls and then slightly flatten. Place the flattened balls on the plate and refrigerate for at least one hour before frying.
Meanwhile, get all of the other accoutrements ready to go. For the tzatiki, simply combine the yogurt, garlic, cucmber, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, mint and dill in a medium bowl, cover with cling film and set aside. Finley slice the tomato, lettuce, red onion and cucumber. Slice the pitas to open and preheat your oven to 220 C/420F.
Next, in a dutch oven or other vessel suitable for deep frying, add enough vegatble oil to fill 1/3 of the pan. Heat the oil to a medium-high heat for 10 minutes. You can tell the oil is hot enough when a scrap of bread browns easily when tossed in.
Then simply drop in the falafel (3 or 4 at a time) and let the hot oil do its work until they are browned all over. Drain on paper. When you are nearly finished frying the falafel, heat the pita breads in the oven until they start to develop a slight colour and crunch. Then, simply serve up the falafel with the pitas, tzatziki and salad. Delish. đ
#virtualsupperclub #uksupperclubs #kitchenquarantine #cheltenham #cheltenhamfood #cheltenhamfoodie #cotswolds #cotswoldfoodblog #foodies #foodiesofinstagram #foodphotography #falafel #chickpeas #tzatziki #soglos #cotswoldlife #covidcooking #freshfood #foodblogger #erinssupperclub #falafelfriday #fridaynighttreat #itstheweekend
HozzĂĄszĂłlĂĄsok