Oven Baked Falafels

Ingredients

Serves 2-3

• 400g tin of chickpeas

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1/2 medium onion

• 6 sprigs fresh parsley leaves (2 tbsp)

• 3 sprigs fresh mint leaves (1 tbsp)

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1/2 tsp sea salt (flakes best)

• 3 tbsp plain flour plus 2-3 for binding

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• vegetable oil to coat

Method

You are going to start by making a paste with the herbs and spices, so pick off the mint and parsley leaves. Now add that to a food processor with the garlic, onion, cumin, coriander, oil and salt. Blitz until it is a fine paste as you want the flavours to get all through the falafels.

Once done pour the paste into a bowl then drain and pat dry the chickpeas and put them in the processor. Pulse these gently to break them up but not turn them into a powder as you want the texture of chunks of chickpeas in the falafels.

Put these into the bowl with the paste then add in 3 tbsp of plain flour and 1/2 tsp of baking powder. Give this a good mix until it's all combined. The mixture is unlikley to be dry enough to hold together so at this point so you want to add the rest of the flour a bit at a time. Keep mixing until it forms a loose ball that just sticks together enough that you can pull it away from the bowl but it falls apart under gravity. You may not need all the remaining flour depending on the dryness of the chickpeas, herbs and the water content of the onion, this one is all about feel and a bit of practice.

Once done cover and pop in the refridgerator to firm up for 2 hours or until ready to use.

To cook coat a baking tray with a bit of vegetable oil then form the mixture into golfball sized balls then flatten onto the baking tray. If frying you can keep them as balls but in the oven you want a good amount of surface area in contact with the tray and the oil to get that nice crust. Brush the tops with a bit more oil then place in the oven at 180c (360f) for 20 mins turning halfway through. Then up the oven to 210c (410f) for 5 mins more, again turning halfway to really get the outside crisp.

Serve hot with whatever takes your fancy, in flatbreads, with a salad or just dipped in hummus they are so versatile.