Simple Healthy Falafels

Pair these delicious falafels with soft flatbreads, well-spiced humous and crunchy pickles for an amazing lunch, or a shareable starter.

Makes 16

Ingredients

• 250g dried chickpeas or dried split broad beans 1⁄2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 3 garlic cloves

• 1 onion, roughly chopped

• 1 leek, roughly chopped

• 1 celery stick , roughly chopped

• 1 small chilli, roughly chopped (deseeded if you don’t like it too hot)

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp sumac

• good handful chopped coriander

• good handful chopped parsley

• 80g gram flour

• 100ml vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Soak the chickpeas in cold water for 8 hrs, or overnight.

2. Drain the chickpeas and pulse with the bicarb in a food processor until roughly chopped. Remove 3/4 of the mixture and set aside.

3. Add the garlic, vegetables, spices and herbs to the remaining mixture in the processor and purée to a paste. Stir the paste into the rough purée of chickpeas, add the gram flour, season and mix well.

4. Heat oven to 110C/90C fan/gas 1/4. Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add some of the oil. Use your hands to form the mixture into patties (there should be enough to make about 16). Fry for 2 mins each side until crisp. Keep in a warm oven while you fry the remainder of the mixture, continuing to add a little oil to the pan with each batch. Serve wrapped in flatbreads, if you like, alongside the houmous, tabbouleh and pickled red onion & radish.

To serve

Goes well with - houmous, tabbouleh, pickled red onion, radish & flatbreads.