Falafel – together with houmous and kale it makes up the holy trinity of vegan foodstuffs. I LOVE falafels so much but I have never really got down to making them, which is silly because they’re actually super easy – you can just chuck everything into the blender. I used to think they were really hard to make properly but I’ve found that the right combination of spices and herbs makes a delicious little morsel every time, so here’s my recipe for super easy and quick falafels…

INGREDIENTS:

• 400g tin chickpeas (drained and patted dry with kitchen paper)
• 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 1 small white onion (really finely chopped)
• 2 tbsps walnuts (finely chopped)
• 2 tsps cumin
• good handful of parsley (finely chopped)
• 4 tbsps oat flour (I just made this myself from porridge oats by simply grinding them in the blender)
• salt and pepper to season
• generous amount of olive oil for frying

n.b. if you don’t have oats, plain flour is fine, I just like the texture the oat flour brings to the falafels. You could substitute the walnuts for pecans or even sesame seeds depending on your preference. You could also add a tbsp or two of breadcrumbs to make them extra crunchy. This recipe makes about 12 falafels give or take.

METHOD:

1. Put all the ingredients in the blender (except the oat flour and seasoning) and blend until everything is a nice sort of mulch.
2. Spoon it into a small bowl, add the oat flour and seasoning and mix together until thoroughly combined. You can pop the mixture in the fridge for a couple of hours so the mixture really firms up if you want.
3. Take a tablespoon of mixture and use your hands to mould it into a flat-ish ball shape (compact them tightly so they are less likely to fall apart when cooking).
4. Heat the oil on a high heat for a minute, then add the falafels and cook on a medium-high heat, turning occasionally for about 8 minutes or until browned. Enjoy!

Lots of love,

Sunny Kitty