Falafel : from canned chick peas!

A few months ago, my friend Jane and I were in Bangkok and we ate lots of falafel. Strange, I know. But since then, I have been hankering for them.

Everyone says that it has to be made from fresh chick peas for the starch to bind the falafel balls together, but I wanted a quick snack and wasn’t up to waiting for the dried ones to soak overnight. Here’s my quick falafel:

1 can chick peas, drained
A handful of fresh parsley, mint and coriander, chopped…the more the better picked fresh cilantro, parsley, or mint leaves, or preferably a mixture of all three (about 2 cups; 55g)
3 bunches of spring onion, white and pale green parts only        1 tablespoon cornflour to bind the peas
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
salt and pepper to season.
Blitz everything together. Roll the mixture into small balls (small ones fall apart less). Fry in oil, or if you are super healthy, bake them.

(Note: if you’re using dried chickpeas, soak overnight, drain and blitz with herbs. Transfer mixture to a bowl, cover, and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes to allow time for more starch to seep out of chickpeas).

Serve with pickled gherkins (I didn’t have any, so my friend Jane’s Mango Chutney was a replacement), hummus and yoghurt on flat bread. Absolutely delicious!