Falafel
You can make these easy falafels in minutes for a delicious quick dinner. Top with chilli sauce, yoghurt, pickles or hummus to customise. It's a simplified falafel recipe for those on a budget with limited kit – it's so much cheaper than buying ready-made. See also our easy chickpea stew recipe and easy hummus recipe for more ways to zhuzh up that tin!
Ingredients
For the falafel
- 400g/14oz tin chickpeas
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 2 dessertspoons plain flour
- ½ tsp salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tsp olive oil
For the salad
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon, juice only
- ½ cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 round lettuce, washed, leaves torn
To serve
Method
Put the chickpeas in a saucepan and mash with a potato masher until as smooth as possible. (If you have a non-stick pan, use a plastic masher to protect the coating.)
Add the spring onions, cumin, lemon zest, flour and salt. Season with lots of black pepper and mix well with a wooden spoon.
Using your hands, form the mixture into eight equal-sized balls and flatten slightly.
Add 2 teaspoons of the oil to a frying pan over a low heat. Add the falafel and cook for 4 minutes. Flip onto the other side and add another 2 teaspoons of oil to the pan. Cook for a further 3–4 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp on both sides.
Meanwhile put the cucumber, tomato and lettuce in a large bowl. Squeeze the juice of half the lemon into a small bowl, add a pinch of salt and pepper and using a fork whisk together with the olive oil to make a dressing. Pour over the salad and mix well.
Lightly toast the pitta breads then carefully slice open along one side using a sharp knife.
When ready to serve, arrange a little salad in each pitta, top with some of the falafels and add a squeeze of juice from the remaining lemon half. Add a spoonful of yoghurt, chilli sauce or hummus (or a bit of all three!) Serve with the remaining salad alongside.