Falafel, Hummus and Bulgar Salad

Garlic Breath? Who cares! Who needs a snog when you've had a dinner as tasty as this one?
As part of the po' folk week, we're having another meatless meal, which again features legumes and grains in the shape of chick peas (garbanzo beans) and bulgar wheat.
These are all super simple to make, especially if you've got a food processor and the whole lot will be done in around 45 minutes. Not bad for something this healthy and tasty.

The hummus isn't completely authentic, as I make it lower fat than is traditional but I really don't think your taste buds will be able to tell the diff.

You will be breathing serious garlic when you're done, but if you feed this to your special someone you'll be a matching pair and just think how healthy you're making your blood!

Falafel, Hummus and Bulgar Wheat Salad
Serves 4, takes 45 minutes

For the Falafel:
1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans)
1 onion, rough diced
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp gram flour (garbanzo bean flour) or 2 tbsp wheat flour
pepper
small handful parsley leaves
small handful coriander leaves
250 ml sunflower oil for frying


For the Hummus:
1 can chick peas
2 cloves garlic
4 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
200ml cold water (approx)


For the Bulgar wheat salad:
300ml (by volume) bulgar wheat kernels (or cous cous works just as well!)
8cm cucumber, diced small
2 ripe tomatoes* de-seeded and diced small
1 clove, garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
small handful mint leaves, chopped
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp olive oil
juice 1/2 lemon

To Serve: 4 pita bread, warmed.

First, start the bulgar wheat by measuring it into a bowl and sprinkling the salt, paprika and ground coriander over. Measure an equal volume (300ml in this case) of boiling water and pour over the grains, stirring gently. Cover for five minutes, then fluff with a fork, uncover and pop in the fridge while you get everything else ready.

Make the hummus- In the bowl of a large food processor, add all the ingredients except for the water and pulse on high, scraping the sides down until you have a coarse paste. scrape the sides of the owl down again and pulse, drizzling in the cold water a little at a time until you have a thick but soft paste. You will probably have to scrape and pulse, scrape and pulse a couple of times to make it consistent. Taste test for lemon and salt, adjust if necessary. Scrape into a bowl and refrigerate until you're ready to serve.

For the falafel, put all the ingredients except the gram (or wheat) flour into the bowl of your food processor and pulse (scrape, pulse, scrape...) until you have a thick, consistent paste. Stir the flour through to thicken and let sit for a minute before shaping into balls, using an ice cream scoop or dessert spoon to measure, then flatten slightly.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over a med-high heat until a pinch of the falafel mixture sizzles when you drop it in. Carefully place the small patties in the oil and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side. If you're using a smaller frying pan, do this in two batches and keep them warm in an oven while you fry the second lot.

Stir the herbs, fresh veg, lemon juice and olive oil into the cooled bulgar wheat right before serving.

Serve big scoops of the hummus, bulgar salad and three falafel each with some pita bread and shredded lettuce. An extra wedge of lemon on the side wouldn't go amiss either.

Now go breathe on your friends.

Falafel
Hummus

Bulgur Wheat Salad