Falafel Pittas.

Healthy comfort food. As a vegan, my mum used to make these on a regular basis. I haven't made them in a while but i'm so glad I did. 

Ingredients.

For the falafel:

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas.

1 x 400g of mixed beans.

1 lemon.

1 tablespoon harissa.

1 teaspoon allspice.

1 tablespoon plain flour.

1 bunch fresh coriander.

Olive oil.

For the sides:

1 or 2 peppers.

A few handfuls of rocket,

Half a cucumber.

Halloumi.

Olive oil.

For the tzatziki:

250g natural yoghurt.

Half a cucumber.

Half a lemon.

Half a bunch of fresh mint.

Recipe.

For the best results, you should use a food processor. However if you don't own one, you can simply put all ingredients in a bowl and mash with a potato masher. The falafel may not be as smooth but it will still taste just as good.

Drain the beans and chickpeas and put them into the processor. Finely grate in the lemon zest, then add a pinch of salt and pepper, the harissa, allspice, flour and coriander stalks. Blitz until smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor if needed. Scrape out the mixture and use clean, wet hands to quickly divide and shape into 8 patties. Put 1 tablespoon of oil into the frying pan and add the falafels, turning when golden and crisp.

In a separate frying pan, add the cut peppers and halloumi until charred/golden. Pop a few pittas into the toaster.

For the tzatziki, use a grater to coarsely grate the cucumber and sprinkle it with a pinch of salt. Put into a bowl with the natural yoghurt, juice of half a lemon and a pinch of pepper. Finely chop and add the top leafy half of the mint and mix together. Alternatively, shop bought tzatiki will also work.

Serve on a board/platter with chopped cucumber and rocket and get stuck in.