Fabulous Falafel….a masterclass from my neighbour Joe.

My lovely neighbours Helen and Joe are an interesting and glamorous couple, but who knew that Joe (pictured below) was an expert at Middle Eastern cookery? So when I was invited along to learn how to make his trademark falafel, I didn’t hesitate and rushed down the road, pinny at the ready. I had only had falafel at the local kebab shop before, but I was assured that this was completely different and of course, far superior.I arrived expecting to find a few small bowls with the ingredients weighed out, little did I know that Joe does nothing by halves and when he cooks we are talking cooking in bulk, hence three washing up bowls full of chickpeas! Don’t panic, however the measures below are for a far more reasonable amount!

You will need:

• 2 cups of dried chickpeas soaked in cold water (minimum overnight, preferably up to 2 days changing the water regularly)
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped (white onion is best)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh coriander
• Chilli powder to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

• Drain the chickpeas and place in a food processor or a grinder with the onion and garlic

• For the quantities above, add the other ingredients, if you are us…put all the ingredients on a clean kitchen surface
• and mix (click on video below)

!

• Either roll in to small balls or use an amazing falafel making gadget (No, I didn’t know they existed either…)

• Either use a deep fat fryer or place some sunflower oil in a heavy saucepan and place over a medium heat. You will know when the oil is ready as a small piece of bread will float to the top when dropped in – always be VERY careful when dealing with hot oil.
• Fry the falafel about 6 at a time, until they are golden brown and crispy round the outside (see video below)

• Serve hot with salad, hummus, hot pepper dip, tsaziki – basically anything you want

Play around with the spicing to make them as mild or as spicy as you like, but I can guarantee you they are absolutely delicious. Joe casually whipped up some fresh hummus for us all (recipe to follow) and we had an elegant lunch of falafel, hummus, flat bread and tomato salad…oh yes and quite a lot of very good wine.

Joe also introduced me to two further delicacies which I had never tried before…

Fresh pistachio nuts

and cactus fruit

Who says life is dull in suburbia???………………and by the way, this is how much falafel mixture we ended up with to put in our freezers.