MASTERCHEF MAKEOVER
Inspired by our popular falafel burgers, BBC Masterchef judge John Torode gives the recipe an authentic revamp
John Torode’s homemade meze
Falafels, packed carefully inside soft flatbreads with well-spiced houmous, have been around for centuries – and with good reason. I first made falafels when I was 10 and, although I love the Good Food burger version, I’ve developed my own trusted authentic recipe. I make my patties a little smaller and serve them with homemade houmous, tabbouleh and pickles. If you would like to make your own flatbreads too, you can find my recipe on page 137.
Falafels You should use soaked dried beans for this recipe – canned beans won’t work.
MAKES 16 PREP 15 mins plus at least 8 hrs soaking COOK 20 mins EASY V 250g dried chickpeas or dried split broad beans
1/ 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 garlic cloves
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 leek, roughly chopped
1 celery stick, roughly chopped
1 small chilli, roughly chopped (deseeded if you don’t like it too hot) 1 tsp each ground cumin, cayenne pepper and sumac good handful chopped coriander and parsley
80g gram lour
100ml vegetable oil
To serve houmous, tabbouleh and pickled red onion & radish (recipes, right) latbreads, shop-bought or see my recipe on p137 (optional)
1 Soak the chickpeas in cold water for 8 hrs, or overnight.
2 Drain the chickpeas and pulse with the bicarb in a food processor until roughly chopped. Remove 3/ of the
4 mixture and set aside.
3 Add the garlic, vegetables, spices and herbs to the remaining mixture in the processor and purée to a paste. Stir the paste into the rough purée of chickpeas, add the gram flour, season and mix well. 4 Heat oven to 110C/90C fan/gas 1/ 4. Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add some of the oil. Use your hands to form the mixture into patties (there should be enough to make about 16). Fry for 2 mins each side until crisp. Keep in a warm oven while you fry the remainder of the mixture, continuing to add a little oil to the pan with each batch. Serve wrapped in flatbreads, if you like, alongside the houmous, tabbouleh and pickled red onion & radish. GOODTOKNOW vegan • healthy • gluten free
PER FALAFEL 139 kcals • fat 7g • saturates 1g • carbs 11g • sugars 1g • ibre 3g • protein 5g • salt 0.1g Houmous SERVES 6 PREP 10 mins COOK 2 mins EASY V
Drain a 400g can chickpeas, keeping the water. Gently warm the chickpeas in a microwave, then tip into a food processor with 100ml lemon juice, 150ml olive oil, 125g tahini, 11/ 2 tsp ground coriander and the crushed seeds from 5 cardamom pods. Blend until smooth; add a splash of chickpea water if its looking a little dry. Check the seasoning and add more oil and lemon juice to taste. Serve sprinkled with toasted pine nuts and sumac. GOODTOKNOW vegan • gluten free
PER SERVING 416 kcals • fat 38g • saturates 5g • carbs 8g • sugars 1g • ibre 4g • protein 8g • salt 0.1g Tabbouleh SERVES 6 as a side dish PREP 15 mins plus resting NO COOK V Soak 120g fine bulghar wheat in cold water for 15 mins. Drain well, put in a bowl and mix with 75ml olive oil and 4 tbsp lemon juice. Cover and leave for 30 mins to soften. When ready to serve, deseed and finely chop 5 tomatoes and add with 4 finely sliced spring onions and a good handful each of chopped flatleaf parsley and chopped mint leaves. Finally, stir in another 75ml olive oil and 4-5 tbsp lemon juice and season well. GOODTOKNOW vegan • vit c • 1 of 5-a-day
PER SERVING 305 kcals • fat 25g • saturates 4g • carbs 14g • sugars 2g • ibre 4g • protein 3g • salt 0.1g Pickled red onion & radish SERVES 6 PREP 10 mins plus resting COOK 2 mins EASY V Slice 1 large red onion into thin rings and 12 small radishes into thin slices. Stir in 1 tbsp salt and 1 tbsp golden caster sugar and leave for 20 mins. Warm 100ml cider vinegar and 50ml water in a small saucepan, then pour over the vegetables. Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt, then leave to cool
. GOODTOKNOW vegan • low fat • gluten free
PER SERVING 22 kcals • fat none • saturates none • carbs 4g • sugars 3g • ibre 1g • protein 1g • salt 0.6g