Chickpeas are a fantastically versatile ingredient. Their transmutable texture has been delivering protein-packed, plant-based nutrient density for thousands of years. And if there’s one dish that offers a delicious dabble with chickpeas but can feel far too fiddly to faff around with after a whole day of activity, it’s falafel. Here, I’ve adapted my favourite fried green falafel recipe – a gift from my friend Emi from Egypt – simplified and squashed for maximum taste, minimum fuss midweek munching.
While fried falafel requires dried chickpeas be soaked overnight, this one has a can-do attitude. Usually, if you forget to soak chickpeas, it’s not as simple as swapping in a tin – trust me. There’s too much moisture-to-starch in canned chickpeas to have any luck binding them for frying. I once watched a whole batch worth of falafel batter disintegrate in the base of my frying oil because I thought I’d get clever with a can. Save bulking it out with besan flour – you can-not.
With this recipe, there’s no need to worry about them falling apart because the flatbreads form your base and the falafel mix the schmear, set with some hot and heavy time in the pan. And because the mix remains a schmear that’s fried rather than needing to be shaped into spheres or oblongs and deep-fried, there’s no fear of frying oil spattering about either.
Think of this as somewhere between hummus and falafel – both of which are made with chickpeas. It’s pretty much schmearing greened-up hummusy mix on to pita and then frying it for crispy bits like falafel.
In order to get the crispiest crust that stays on the mix rather than your pan, you’ll need to use a well-seasoned heavy-based pan or something with a non-stick (non-toxic!) coating such as ceramic. I’ve taken to preheating my ceramic titanium non-stick pans with a splash of water in the base so they’ve got something inside (many companies deem heating non-stick pans completely dry as a void of their warranty). Once the water has completely evaporated, you know the pan is hot enough – then just carefully wipe it with a kitchen towel before adding the oil for frying.
If your pan is not non-stick, you can add an extra layer of insurance by cutting a piece of baking paper to fit the bottom of the pan. When the pan is hot, add the baking paper before plopping the pitas on top.
You can premake this mix the night before and keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to cook. You can also reheat the cooked flatbreads the next day to keep the party going.
Alice Zaslavsky’s smashed green falafel flatbreads with chopped salad and garlicky drizz – recipe
Makes 8 (serves 4-6)
For the smashed falafel mix
1 brown onion, roughly chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 heaped tsp salt flakes
1 bunch parsley (about 75g), roughly chopped, a handful of the prettiest leaves reserved for salad
1 bunch coriander (about 75g), roughly chopped, a handful of the prettiest leaves reserved for salad
½ lemon, juiced
1 tin (420g) cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained well
8 small, soft pitas
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
For the chopped salad
½ Spanish onion, finely diced
4 Roma tomatoes, diced (or other firm sweet tomatoes)
1 Lebanese cucumber, diced
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Reserved parsley and coriander leaves, roughly torn
For the garlicky drizz
½ cup natural yoghurt
½ lemon, juiced
1 garlic clove, minced
Pop the onion, ground spices, garlic, salt, parsley and fresh coriander (in that order) in a blender or food processor. Blitz until the onion starts to break down to a sludge and the herb stalks have yielded to the blades. Add the lemon juice and drained chickpeas and blend to a smooth paste. Taste for seasoning and set aside in a bowl.
Make the salad by combining the Spanish onion, tomatoes and cucumber in a bowl, then drizzle in the olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Tumble the pretty leaves on top for stirring through just before serving (it’ll keep them from wilting under the weight of the oil).
Mix the garlicky drizz ingredients together in a jug, ready for pouring.
Heat a wide non-stick frying pan with two tablespoons of water in the bottom. Once this evaporates, you know your pan is hot enough.
While it heats, schmear each pita with the falafel mix.
Splash a tablespoon of olive oil into the frying pan, then gently swish the pitas, mix-side down on to the pan and heat for two to three minutes until the falafel mix is golden but still has bits of green poking through.
Flip the pitas out of the pan and stack them under a clean tea towel to keep warm. Repeat again with the rest of the oil and schmeared pitas.
When ready to serve, pop the salad and drizz on the table along with the pitas (still under the towel) and instruct eaters to tumble a handful of salad over the falafel mix, then drizzle some drizz and fold.
