Ben Hodges, ex of the River Cafe, was the first head chef I worked under. He cooked mainly Moorish food, because he spent a lot of time in southern Spain, and Middle Eastern cuisine still inspires a lot of my own creations to this day (although, wherever possible, my cooking also always include local, seasonal, whole foods and byproducts to reduce waste). Today’s recipe is adapted from one I wrote for Cook for Syria, an incredible cookbook and campaign in aid of Unicef’s work in Syria. Falafel are a great carrier for juice pulp, which binds well with chickpeas to create gorgeous, colourful, waste-reducing fritters.
Juice pulp falafel
While researching the country’s cuisine for my contribution to the Cook for Syria book, I discovered that its falafel are often made in small doughnut shapes, so I’ve followed suit here. This helps the falafel cook more evenly, and also creates a delicious carrier for extra tahini sauce. The addition of juice pulp boosts the flavour and often also gives the falafel a nice colour.If you juice at home, you’ll know how much fruit and vegetable mash it creates. This byproduct is highly nutritious and full of fibre, so, to reduce waste, whenever I make juice, I always plan to make something with the leftovers. Here, this otherwise wasted product adds nutrition and flavour, and also bulks out the falafel. If you don’t have a juicer, ask for some pulp from a local juice shop or simply use grated vegetables instead.
Makes 16
200g dried chickpeas
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g juice pulp (or grated vegetables)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
2⅔ tbsp (10g) coriander, stalks and leaves roughly chopped
1½ tbsp chickpea flour, or other flour (optional)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and roughly ground
1 tsp salt
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
To serve (all optional)
Flatbreads
Tahini sauce
Chilli sauce
Chopped or sliced tomatoes
Chopped or sliced cucumber
Fresh coriander
Pickles
Soak the chickpeas and the bicarb in a large bowl or pan of water for about eight hours. Drain, dry in a tea towel, then tip into a blender and add the juice pulp, garlic, chopped coriander stalks, flour, baking powder, toasted cumin and salt. Blend for a minute, to make a rough paste, then scrape into a bowl. Divide and shape the mix in roughly 16 patties, then use a skewer to poke a hole in the centre of each one. Arrange on a tray and put in the fridge.
Fill a medium saucepan with oil to a depth of about 2½cm, then put it on a medium heat. If you have a thermometer, the oil is ready when it hits 180C; otherwise, test by dropping in a small pinch of the falafel mix – if it bubbles and floats to the top, the oil is hot enough. Fry the falafel in batches, so the oil temperature doesn’t drop, then turn after a minute or two. When the falafel are golden brown all over, lift out with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper and put in a warmed bowl. Repeat with the remaining falafel mix, then serve hot with flatbreads, yoghurt and all the trimmings.
