Twelve South African food bloggers were recently invited by Faithful to Nature to take part in an innovative organic recipe challenge. The bloggers were challenged to each devise a recipe for a seasonal, vegetarian, organic family lunch or dinner. Blogger Leila Saffarian, creator of Pass The Salt, was chosen as one of the winners. See her falafel recipe below:
Ingredients
- For the falafel:
- 1 cup of dried chickpeas
- 1 large handful of fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 small handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 1 spring onion, finely sliced
- 100g of pistachios, shelled and chopped
- A squeeze of lime juice (or lemon)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
- 1 tsp (5ml) ground cumin
- ½ tsp (2.5ml) baking powder
- 3 tbsp (45ml) whole-wheat flour
- Grape seed oil, for frying
- For the freekeh salad:
- 2 cups of cooked freekeh
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced
- 1 large handful of fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 small handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
- Juice of 1 lime (or lemon)
- 150g pistachios, shelled, coarsely chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
- A good drizzle of olive oil
- 100g pomegranate rubies
- Yoghurt and Tahini Sauce:
- 1 cup (250ml) of good quality, Greek yoghurt
- ½ cup (125ml) tahini
- Juice of 1 lime (or half a lemon)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
- A half a cup combined of: fresh mint and dill
- A good drizzle of olive oil
Instructions
- For the falafel, soak the chickpeas in hot water for 5 hours or preferably overnight. Drain, rinse and place in a food processor. Blitz to form a paste (the paste should still have some texture to it).
- Add the dill, coriander, spring onion, pistachios, lime juice, salt, pepper, cumin, baking powder and flour to the chickpeas and mix well.
- Form the mixture into small balls.
- In a small saucepan, slowly bring the oil up to heat. Fry batches of the falafel at a time.
- Remove from the oil after 2-3 minutes or once golden and drain on absorbent towel.
- For the salad, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Adjust seasoning.
- For the yogurt and tahini sauce, add the yogurt, tahini, lime juice, salt, pepper, mint, dill and olive oil to a food processor. Blitz to form a smooth consistency.
- Serve the falafel with the freekeh salad and dollops of the creamy yoghurt and tahini sauce.
