Name: Homemade falafel
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Makes 8 pittas
Ingredients: 1 onion roughly chopped; 4 cloves garlic; a large handful coriander; a large handful of leaves flat-leaf parsley; 400g chickpeas soaked overnight in cold water and drained; 4 tbsp gram flour; 2 tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp aleppo pepper see notes below; ½ tsp baking powder; ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda; for deep-frying vegetable oil; 8 pittas split; 2 Little Gem lettuces finely sliced; 2 handfuls of leaves flat-leaf parsley; 200g pickled turnips or cucumbers thinly sliced; 2 tsp sumac see notes below; to serve tahini; to serve chilli sauce

Middle Eastern falafel pittas on a plate

FALAFELS

1 onion
roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic
a large handful coriander
a large handful of leaves flat-leaf parsley
400g chickpeas
soaked overnight in cold water and drained
4 tbsp gram flour
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp aleppo pepper
see notes below
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
for deep-frying vegetable oil

TO SERVE

8 pittas
split
2 Little Gem lettuces
finely sliced
2 handfuls of leaves flat-leaf parsley
200g pickled turnips or cucumbers
thinly sliced
2 tsp sumac
see notes below
to serve tahini
to serve chilli sauce

Method

step 1
To make the falafels, blitz the onion and garlic in a food processor until fine. Add the herbs and blitz again until finely chopped. Add the soaked chickpeas, gram flour, cumin, coriander, aleppo pepper, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Season with a generous pinch of salt and blitz again for a few minutes to combine. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the food processor and blend again until the mixture combines into a paste. Roll into 30-32 small falafels the size of walnuts.
step 2
Fill a pan no more than ¹/3 full with oil and heat to 180C or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Cook the falafels, in batches, for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
step 3
Serve in the pittas with the lettuce, parsley, pickles, a sprinkle of sumac, a drizzle of tahini and chilli sauce to taste.