This is our favourite Falafel recipe which we have been optimising to our taste over the last couple of years. For the recipe we use dried chickpeas which we soak overnight to get the best result.

Ingredients

• 500 g dried Chickpeas
• 1 onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1-2 bunches fresh cilantro or parsley or mixed
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• olive oil for frying

Method

Soaking the chickpeas

1. The first important step is to soak your chickpeas the night before. To do so combine water and baking soda* in a bowl and stir well to dissolve. Cover the bowl and let them soak for 12 to 24 hours.If chickpeas aren't covered any more over time, fill in more water.
2. After soaking, rinse the chickpeas under cold water to wash off the baking soda. Let the chickpeas drain well. I usually give them a quick dry with a clean kitchen towel.

Falafel Dough

1. Add chickpeas, onion, garlic, fresh herbs, olive oil and spices in a bowl of a food processor (immersion blender works as well) and let it blend until everything is well combined and you have a nice falafel dough. As we are travelling in a camper I'm using a manual food processor so I do everything step by step and my dough doesn't get as fine as I wished which impacts the falafel itself.

1. Put the dough into a bowl or container, cover it tightly and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes up to 1 hour.

1. After refrigerating, take out your dough and form evenly sized patties (~1 cm thick). It helps when you wet your hands so the dough doesn't get too sticky.

Frying

1. Heat almost half a saucepan of olive oil in a over medium heat. You patties must be covered half to get the best result.
2. When small bubbles appear, place the patties carefully into the pan.

1. Let them sit there for about 5 mins or until crispy and golden brown. Then flip sides. (Do as many rounds as you need. You can add more olive oil if you feel like it.)

1. Place the fried patties on a baking rack or colander to let them drain and cool. We love to eat them fresh with plain greek yoghurt.

*

• Adding baking soda detoxifies the anti nutrients and helps the body to absorb the nutrients.