Falafel

These little patties make a nutritios snack, or you can serve them for lunch with houmous, pitta bread, tomato and cucumber. You can prepare the mix and shape the felafel in advance, ready to cook later, or event the next day.

Freezer friendly - Freeze the uncooked felafel, then defrost and cook a few at a time.

For babies: These are nice finger food - you can form them into little sausages, rather than patties, to make them easier to hold.

Ingredients

• 5 dried apricots, roughly chopped
• Rapeseed or olive oil, for cooking
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 50g fresh breadcrumbs
• A small bunch of coriander, chopped
• A small bunch of flat leaf parsely, chopped
• A squeeze of orange juice
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190°C
2. Soak the dried apricots in boiling water to cover for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a small frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and fry gently for about 10 minutes, until soft.
3. Drain the apricots and put into a food processor with the onion and garlic, chickpeas, breadcrumbs, chopping herbs, orange juice and cumin. Process to a thick paste, stopping to scrape down the sides a few times. The paste should be quite smooth and well amalgamated (to enure the felafel will hold together once cooked). Taste the paste and add some seasoning, or a touch more orange juice, if you like.
4. Take heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture, roll into small balls and flattern to form patties.
5. You can fry the felafel in a non-stick pan with a little oil, for a few minutes on each side, until golden brown, but I prefer to bake them in the oven, preheated to 190°C. Brush the felafel lightly with oil and bake on a non-stick baking sheet for about 20 minutes, flipping them over halfway.
6. Allow to cool down before eating. Serve warm or at room temperature, with houmous, mayannaise or another dip or saurce, as well as pitta bread and salad.