Pan Fried Falafel

I've always wanted to make falafel ever since having them for the first time in the backstreets of Aswan. But somehow travelling on my own in Egypt in my early 20s was less daunting than a deep fat frier.

Today I found a recipe on BBC Good Food, and doubled it to make a vegan dinner for 5. You could half the quantity and serve as four falafel burgers as the original recipe

Serves 5-8

2 tins chick peas, drained and patted dry with kitchen towel
1 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 handful roughly chopped parsley
1 large garlic clove
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1tsp smoked paprika
4 tbsp plain flour
Large pinch of salt
2 tbsp sunflower oil

To serve
5 pitta pockets or wraps
Lettuce leaves
Sliced red onion
Tahini
Lemon Juice
Chilli sauce

Put chick peas, onion,garlic, spices, and salt in a food processor.  Blitz until smooth.  You may have to stop the food processor and poke the mixture down.  Don't be tempted to add any liquid otherwise the resulting falafel will be too squidgy.  Once smooth, shape into 10 patties.

Shallow fry in the sunflower oil for 3-5 minutes each side until golden brown.  Serve in a toasted pitta   on a bed of lettuce and onion, and a drizzle of tahini, lemon juice, and chilli sauce.

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