One of the amazing winning dinners from the Faithful to Nature Food Challenge!
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
Method:
1 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).
2 Add the dill, coriander, spring onion, pistachios, lime juice, salt, pepper, cumin, baking powder and flour to the chickpeas and mix well.
3 Form the mixture into small balls.
4 In a small saucepan, slowly bring the oil up to heat. Fry batches of the falafel at a time.
5 Remove from the oil after 2-3 minutes or once golden and drain on absorbent towel.
6 For the salad, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Adjust seasoning.
7 For the yoghurt 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.
8 Serve the falafel with the freekeh salad and dollops of the creamy yoghurt and tahini sauce.
BUY ALL THESE WONDERFUL ORGANIC INGREDIENTS FOR YOUR DINNER PARTY AT FAITHFUL TO NATURE!
Recipe courtesy of Leila Saffarien – Pass the Salt