Spicy, fragrant, sweet, sour, hot and gutsy were the flavours I tasted the first time I ate falafel in a soft, freshly cooked pillowy pita. I was a student working on a kibbutz outside Jerusalem. After finishing a day's work I would hitch a lift into the city and revel in tasting new foods cooked on the street in the stifling heat.
Falafel stuffed inside pita pockets with salad has become a staple over the years but now I dribbled them with freshly made harissa.The fiery sauce seems to unite the ingredients into one of the healthiest, tastiest and cheapest meals you can eat. It can be served alongside meat or kept as it is for vegetarians and vegans.
Falafel
Serves 4
Ingredients
250g chick peas, home cooked or canned
2 garlic cloves
½ bunch of coriander, chopped
1½tsp cumin seeds, roughly ground
1 tsp coriander seeds, roughly ground
½ onion grated/or chopped in the food processor
50g chick pea flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Sea salt and black pepper
Sunflower oil for shallow frying
Method
Drain the chick peas and place in the food processor. Pulse carefully to create a roughly chopped effect. Empty into bowl and add the other ingredients. Stir well.
Take walnut sized amounts of the falafel mix and shape into balls. Flatten each into a disc about 2cm thick.
H
eat 2 cm of oil in a pan and gently fry batches of falafel until they are golden brown and crisp on the outside. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm until you are ready to serve them.
Pita breads
Makes 6 mini pitas
Ingredients
200g plain all purpose flour
4g salt
2g dried yeast (I use Dove Farm)
120g warm water
Method
(Step 1) Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and add the water. Mix roughly, cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes. (Step2) Knead the dough gently by pulling sections of the dough towards you and folding back into the centre. Do this in a clockwise direction until the dough ball has been kneaded all the way around. This should take about 10 seconds. (Step3) Cover and leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Repeat Step 2 and Step 3 a total of 4 times and then allow the dough to rise for an hour in a warm place or until doubled in size. (A barely warm oven can be used as a proving oven if you do not have a warm spot).
Preheat the oven to 240C/Gas mark 9.
Remove the dough from the bowl and punch to release the carbon dioxide that has been generated during proving. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and roll into tear shapes approximately 15cm long and 10cm wide. Place pita on floured baking trays and cover with plastic bags (a clean supermarket plastic bag is ideal) and allow a further 10 minutes to rise. Place in the oven and within seconds they will puff up into cloud like pillows. Bake for about 5 minutes but watch them carefully. They should remain pale and a little soft. Remove from the oven when cooked and allow to cool a little before slitting the side open with a sharp knife to form a pocket.
Fill each pita pocket with chopped cucumber, red onion and tomato dressed in a little lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt, followed by a couple of warm falefels and a teaspoonful of harissa.
Thanks once again to one of my favourite bakers Emmanuel Hadjiandreou for guidance on how to make the best pita ever. His book
is one of my favourites.
Harissa
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1½ fresh long red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds freshly roasted and ground
Juice from half lime or lemon
3 tbsp coriander,
chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 roasted pepper skinned, ribs and seeds removed
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Sea salt and black pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
Method
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth. Taste. Adjust the flavour and the consistency of the sauce with more lemon (or lime) juice and seasonings.