Family Ker-Falafels

Cooking for a family is a celebration. It isdone with love and careful thought as to what is good for everyone. However there are issues around food that can make or break that feeling of joyful nurturing. To generalise: Kids are often fussy eaters, teenage girls can suddenly decide to go without the habitual family staples, men may be demanding about what they consider a meal lacking in protein and if there are older folk to feed – well they will need less quantity and tempting nutritional quality.

Generalising again; the emphasis on nourishment falls to the mother. It is upsetting and stressful for all concerned when dinners are disliked.

Small kids love to pop things in their mouths and how fantastic is that when the food is an all in one nourishing burst. Working men need low GL carbohydrates that are low on cholesterol - and with diverse textures. Teenagers return from school starving and in that moment they would almost eat anything – so make that anything a valuable nutritional snack.

 Here is a great recipe for success and hey presto a busy mum has succeeded.

The best falafels are made with raw sprouted chickpeas, that way they contain extra nutrients and are a living vegetable.

To make falafels you will need to soak chick peas for about 2 days, rinsing daily, until they have swelled and just begun the sprouting process. They will become crunchy, rather like a raw pea. Sprouted chick peas store well in the fridge for about five days by rinsing occasionally

INGREDIENTS

3 cups lightly sprouted chickpeas            

2 fresh tomatoes                                     

2 -3 onions

Juice of 1 lemon

¼ tsp cayenne pepper             

Light oil for frying

1 tsp salt

FOR THE COATING

1 cup maize meal or polenta

Seasoning, chopped herbs, a touch of peri peri

Alternatives such as: chopped spinach or grated carrot for the mixture

1. Blend the sprouted chick peas with the tomatoes, lemon juice, seasoning and one of the onions.

2. When smoothish stir in a finely chopped onion and adjust seasoning.

This mixture may seem too wet when you first liquidize it, trust that after resting it for 30 minutes it will swell and thicken enough to form the falafels.

3. Generously cover a large plate with the coating. Drop a heaped tablespoon of the mixture onto the plate and gently roll to form small balls.

They are quite fragile so carefully place each falafel onto a plate dusted with the coating and set aside.

4. Heat a frying pan with a generous amount of oil. Gently drop the falafels into the sizzling oil, patiently waiting for the base to form before turning them over. This should only take a few minutes. Drain on tissue.

5. An alternative method, which we use a lot for selling on our market stalls, is to form bigger golf sized balls and lightly bake them in a medium hot oven for about 20 minutes or until they are firm to the touch.

The latter is a healthy and completely fat free version.

The uncooked falafel mix will keep 2-3 days uncooked in the fridge, although raw onion absorbs bad odours so use sooner rather than later.

 6. The formed falafel can be frozen by placing on a flat surface onto grease proof paper, freezing and then placing in an airtight container.

Frozen falafels are a handy and very healthy fast food, fantastic for a protein rich supper for hungry kids.

7. As an extra do experiment by adding grated raw carrot or chopped spinach to the falafel mixture, in fact you could get kids to eat their five-a-day with a few bites of this very delicious snack.

Traditionally falafels are served warm tucked into toasted pita or a tortilla wrap with, a tahini or yoghurt dressing and salad. Three smaller sized falafel are plenty per person.

They go well too with a creamy potato mash, a fresh tomato or fruity salsa and some crispy salad leaves or lightly steamed veg.

The larger version can even be baked in the oven in a rich tomato or a béchamel sauce to make a full hearty meal.

Chickpeas are one of the oldest vegetables and have been discovered in caves and carbon dated to around 6500 years BC. They are a good source of zinc folate and protein. They are high in dietary fibreand a healthy source of carbohydrates for persons with insulinsensitivity. Chickpeas are low in polyunsaturated fat.