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There’s a market near my office called Petticoat Lane which has a
selection of food carts from all around the world.  There’s a falafel
stand there that makes my favourite falafel wrap — and which introduced
me to the idea of putting chips (French fries) in the wrap!  It sounds
weird but it’s really nice.  The best part of it is that the wraps at
this stand cost only £3 — bargain by London lunch standards!  Last week I
was craving falafel.  I prefer making falafel myself to buying it
premade in the supermarket because when you make it yourself, you can
adjust spices and herbs to taste, plus it’s less expensive.  The only
downside to making it at home is that you need to plan ahead by one day
since the chickpeas require soaking overnight.  But the result is worth
it!

Equipment You’ll Need:

For this recipe, you’ll need a few things:

• A blender to make the falafel, preferably a fairly strong one that can handle blitzing soaked chickpeas (click here to read my blender buying guide)
• A food processor
  to make the hummus, though you can use a blender but you’ll need to add
  some liquid such as water and will end up with a more liquidy hummus (click here to read my food processor buying guide)

Falafel

Makes approximately 2 dozen pieces of falafel

Ingredients

• 250g/9oz/1 1/3 cups dried chickpeas
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 -3 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 teaspoon paprika (or more if desired)
• pinch cayenne
• 1 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin
• pinch sea salt
• water, if needed
• plain flour, if needed
• vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

1. The night before you plan on making falafel, put the dried chickpeas
   in a large bowl and cover with water, then leave the soak overnight.
2. The next day, drain and rinse chickpeas, then add them to a food
   processor or blender with parsley, garlic, onion, coriander, paprika,
   cayenne, sesame seeds, cumin, and salt.  Blend them together until you
   get a thick paste.
3. If your blender isn’t very high quality, like mine, you may have
   trouble getting the ingredients to blend.  In this case, you can add
   some water to help the blending process.  Once blended, mix in flour
   until the mixture forms a paste thick enough to hang onto a spoon and
   not fall off.
4. If you have a deep fryer, you can cook the falafel in there.  If
   not, heat 3 or 4 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan or wok on
   medium high heat.  When the oil is very hot (you can test this by
   sprinkling a tiny amount of water onto the oil and seeing if it bubbles;
   be extremely careful if you do this, because the oil may spit and burn
   you), form small balls of the paste (you can make them as large or small
   as you want your falafel) and drop them onto the oil.  Fit as many
   pieces of falafel as you can but leave some space or they will clump
   together.  Allow them to cook for a few minutes, then rotate the balls
   until every side is cooked.  Once you’ve cooked a batch, put them onto a
   plate lined with a paper towel, then fry up another batch.

Hummus

Homemade hummus is not as creamy as storebought, but you can adjust
seasoning which is great if you want to personalise your hummus to your
own tastes.

Ingredients

• 1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2.5 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp salt
• dash cayenne
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp to 1 tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• 1 generous tbsp light sesame tahini

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Lemony Yoghurt-Tahini Sauce

I love drizzling this on my falafel wraps.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup soya or other non-dairy yoghurt
• 1.5 tbsp tahini
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Falafel Wrap

To assemble a wrap, start with your favourite tortilla or wrap bread.
 Line with a couple of tablespoons of hummus, then add 3 – 4 pieces of
falafel.  If you want, add chopped cucumber and tomato, then drizzled
with lemony yoghurt-tahini sauce.  Garnish with mint leaves if desired.
 Fold up the wrap and enjoy!  These are also great for lunch at work
as they’re easily transportable.  Simply assemble your wrap and pack
tightly in aluminium foil.

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