Pita with falafel, fresh tzatziki and avocado

Recipes

I'd always wanted to try making falafel from scratch. I don't actually eat it that often, but I love it. A friend and I were figuring out what to cook for dinner — opened the cupboard, had a look around — and spotted some wholegrain pita breads. We'd just had drinks at a Greek place, so tzatziki was very much on our minds. That was the moment: time to get stuck in with chickpeas and spices and make our own falafel. They didn't turn out super firm, but honestly we preferred them that way — soft and a little tender on the inside.

Recipe

Pita with falafel, fresh tzatziki and avocado

Homemade chickpea falafel stuffed into a pita with fresh tzatziki and creamy avocado. A quick and satisfying vegetarian meal for weeknights.

Course	Main course
Kitchen	Middle Eastern
Servings	4

Preparation time

Preparation time	20 min
Cooling time	15 min
Total	20 min

Equipment

Food processor with standard blade
frying pan

Ingredients

400 g canned chickpeas
2 cloves of garlic
juice of 1/2 lemon
red chilli to taste (I'd use 1/2)
parsley (fresh or dried)
1 tsp cumin seeds
salt & pepper
wholemeal flour (or another type of flour)
olive oil
1 avocado
tzatziki to taste
(wholegrain) pita breads

Pita with falafel, fresh tzatziki and avocado

1. Drain the chickpeas and add them to a food processor along with the peeled garlic, chilli (seeds removed!), parsley, cumin and a drizzle of olive oil. Blitz until you have a thick paste. It'll likely be a bit too wet at this point, so add a spoonful of flour and blitz again briefly. With wet hands, shape the mixture into small balls, press them down slightly and place on a plate. Pop them in the fridge for about 15 minutes — this firms them up a little before frying.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the tzatziki and cut the avocado into chunks. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and fry the falafel over medium heat until golden brown on both sides. Warm the pitas, spoon in some tzatziki, add the falafel and tuck in a few pieces of avocado. Great with some fresh coriander and a light tomato salad. Enjoy!

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This dish is a wonderful vegetarian meal that's easy to adapt to your own taste. Add extra chilli if you like things spicy, or leave it out for a milder version. The falafel keeps well and tastes great the next day too, so feel free to make a bigger batch.

Serve the falafel pita with a fresh tomato salad and some coriander for a complete meal. The tzatziki can be bought ready-made or prepared at home with grated cucumber, Greek yoghurt, garlic and lemon. Either way, you'll have a well-balanced plate on the table in no time.

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