Carrot & Chickpea Fluffy Falafel

These delicious little morsels were inspired by a recipe I found while hanging out with my mum and flicking through her old Women’s Weekly cookbooks. After making it once, I made a point of writing down exactly what I did because they were so bloody scrumptious! Light and moist and fluffy – a nice twist on traditional falafel.

I am so happy I came across this recipe. It is a cinch to make – everything is literally dumped and whizzed in the food processor and it uses ingredients I always have on hand. It makes a lovely lunch with yoghurt and salad; or enclosed in pillowy pita bread slathered with hummus and heaps of tabbouleh. Yum! It’s also an easy and delicious appetizer for when unexpected guests show up.

I think it is the addition of carrot and egg that makes these babies lighter, fluffier and less dense than what you’d find at 3am at the local kebab shop after a few too many (Oh, how I miss my youth!).

Ingredients:

• 1 small tin (125g) chickpeas drained
• 1 medium carrot chopped in rough chunks
• 1 free-range egg
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon harissa paste
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• A handful of flat-leaf/continental parsley roughly chopped
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper for seasoning
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 3/4 cup rice bran oil for frying (I prefer not to use canola oil, but it will work as a substitute)
• 1 teaspoon dukkah spice mix
• 3/4 cup labneh (or Greek yoghurt) to serve

Method:

• In a food processor, place drained chickpeas, chopped carrot, egg, flour harissa paste, cumin, parsley and a good pinch of salt and cracked pepper. Blitz on high speed until it becomes a relatively smooth, wet paste.
• Empty mixture from the processor into a large bowl.
• With a spatula, fold in the bread crumbs. This should work to absorb some of the wetness of the mix.
• With wet hands, roll scoops of the mixture into golf-ball sized falafels.
• For best results, allow the falafels to chill in the fridge for at least 30mins. This will allow the egg to set and make them firmer and easier to handle in the fry pan.
• Let the rice bran oil heat to medium-high in a shallow fry pan. The oil should be about 1/2cm deep, so you may need to adjust quantity depending on the size of your fry pan.
• Fry the falafel in batches, rolling around every 30 seconds or so, until they are crisp and golden brown all over (about 2-3 minutes in total). Drain on a dish lined with paper towels.
• Serve the falafel with labneh or Greek yoghurt sprinkled generously with dukkah spice mix.
• This recipe will make about 12 falafels.

This truly is an easy, but impressive little bite made with pantry/fridge staples you should always have on hand.

Mrs. Magic Pantry XO