You obviously don’t have to make the whole “menu” to enjoy this meal – feel free to just try either the falafel or hummus. But trust me, once you’ve opened the can of chickpeas, the rest happens almost automatically since the ingredients needed for your falafel and hummus are pretty much the same.
As far as everything else is concerned, just add or remove whatever you like, there’s not so much you can do wrong about this recipe, trust me! If you wish to give your hummus a little zing you may add some ginger, for instance, or swap the chickpeas for butter beans.
Have a fling here – and enjoy your meal!
Love,
Lea Lou
Homemade falafel and hummus with roasted vegetables and a bulgur vegetable salad.
For two servings.
For the falafel:
2/3 of a 400 g tin of chickpeas (the rest will be used for the hummus, so don’t bother about exact quantities here)
1 clove of garlic
1/2 bunch of flat-leaved parsley
1 – 2 tablespoons wholemeal spelt flour (or plain flour, or yo could use bread crumbs, too)
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Sea salt, pepper and a pinch of coriander powder (ideally freshly crushed in a mortar)
Drain the chickpeas. Using either a food processor or blender, mash them and set aside.
Peel and finely chop the garlic. Wash and chop the parsley. In a bowl mix together chickpea mash, garlic, parsley, flour, lemon zest and juice and spices until all ingredients are incorporated. Add more lemon juice or even a dash of olive oil if the mixture too dry; vice versa, add more flour or bread crumbs if you think it is too thin.
Form the mixture into 6 – 8 little balls, make your hummus, bulgur salad and roasted vegetables first, and fry your falafels in a large pan, using either coconut oil (I love the slight taste of coconut on my falafel, but not everyone might do so) or ghee, for about five minutes, turning them occasionally.
For the hummus:
1/3 of a 400 g tin of chickpeas (the rest of what is leftover from the falafel above)
1 clove of garlic
1 – 2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil (the better the quality, the better your hummus)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Sea salt, freshly coarse-ground pepper and a pinch of coriander powder (ideally freshly crushed in a mortar)
Add your chickpeas, roughly chopped garlic, tahini, olive oil and lemon juice to a blender or food processor and blend until the mixture is smooth. Transfer your hummus to a small bowl, stir in a good pinch of each sea salt, pepper and coriander. If you feel the hummus is too dry, add some more lemon juice, tahini and / or olive oil. You can not do much wrong here, just add whatever of the mentioned ingredients you think is missing in it.
For the bulgur vegetable salad:
Approx. 60 g bulgur
1 clove of garlic
1 teaspoon of coconut oil or ghee
Any vegetables and herbs (such as parsley or coriander) of your choice
Sea salt, freshly coarse-ground pepper
In a small pot bring 120 ml (if using less or more bulgur, remember to adjust the amount of water, you will need double the amount water compared to bulgur) lightly salted water to a boil. Add the bulgur and cook until it has absorbed the water, stirring occasionally.
Peel and roughly chop your garlic, heat your coconut oil or ghee in a medium-sized frying pan. Add the garlic as well as any vegetables you want to use (or simply use them raw when using tomatoes, cucumber or mushrooms for instance), and roast them for a couple of minutes.
Wash and chop the herbs.
In a bowl, mix the bulgur with your vegetables and herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in a tablespoon of olive oil if you like.
For the roasted vegetables:
Wash and peel, slice, chop, core etc. any vegetables of your choice (I used half of an aubergine and half of a zucchini, both sliced thinly). Heat a bit of coconut oil (or ghee) in a large hot pan, add the vegetables and fry them for a couple of minutes from all sides. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly course ground black pepper.
Arrange everything on two plates – and E N J O Y !
