When Faithful To Nature asked if I would like to take part in their Blogger Recipe Challenge, it was a definite yes from my side. To be honest, I’d heard of the brand but had never purchased any of their goods online before. The brief was to create a delicious, vegetarian family meal, using Faithful To Nature pantry goods. I already knew what I would be making. Strong Middle Eastern flavours would steal the show in my dish…
I opted for a green falafel, which are one of my absolute favourite things to eat. Follow that with a tabbouleh style freekeh salad with Greek yoghurt & green tahini sauce. Absolutely lush! I’m half Persian and Persian cuisine is my favourite as it includes (& basically revolves around) all things herby, dill, in particular. There are loads of Middle Eastern countries that have their own version of the falafel, this is my take on this delicious dish. This recipe calls for masses of fresh herbs – as in handfuls, not just a few leaves. If you love fresh food packed with herby flavour, you’ll love my crunchy, green falafels.
I’m lucky enough to live just down the road from the Bryanston Organic Market. With the pantry staples sorted thanks to Faithful To Nature, all I had to do was collect a few bunches of fresh herbs (coriander, dill), as well as a few limes, from the market. The pomegranates were also bought from the market and I picked up a tub of Gourmet Greek yoghurt from Jacksons Real Food Market (also situated in Bryanston). I had mint growing in my kitchen, so that saw to that.
Let’s get green!
Green Falafel with Green Freekeh Tabbouleh Salad & a Yoghurt & Tahini Sauce
Ingredients:
For the falafel:
1 cup of of dried chickpeas (Goodness Me)
1 large handful of fresh dill, finely chopped
1 small handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 spring onion, finely sliced
100g of pistachios, shelled & chopped
A squeeze of lime juice (or lemon)
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to season (Khoisan)
1 tsp (5ml) ground cumin (Good Life Organic)
½ tsp (2.5ml) baking powder (Sally-Ann Creed)
3 tbsp (45ml) whole-wheat flour (Eureka Mills)
Grape seed oil, for frying (Truefood, cold-pressed, Extra Virgin)
For the freekeh salad:
2 cups of cooked freekeh
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 large handful of fresh dill, finely chopped
1 small handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime (or lemon)
150g pistachios, shelled, coarsely chopped
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to season
A good drizzle of olive oil (Prince Albert Extra Virgin)
100g pomegranate rubies
Yoghurt and Tahini Sauce:
1 cup (250ml) of good quality, Greek yoghurt
½ cup (125ml) tahini paste (OhMega)
Juice of 1 lime (or half a lemon)
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to season
A half a cup combined of: fresh mint & dill
A good drizzle of olive oil
Method:
1 For the falafel, soak the chickpeas in hot water for 5 hours or preferably overnight. Drain, rinse & place in a food processor. Blitz to form a paste (the paste should still have some texture to it).
2 Add the dill, coriander, spring onion, pistachios, lime juice, salt, pepper, cumin, baking powder & flour to the chickpeas. Mix well.
3 Form the mixture into small balls.
4 In a small saucepan, slowly bring the oil up to heat. Fry batches of the falafel at a time.
5 Remove from the oil after 2-3 minutes or once golden & drain on absorbent towel.
6 For the salad, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Adjust seasoning.
7 For the yogurt and tahini sauce, add the yogurt, tahini, lime juice, salt, pepper, mint, dill and olive oil to a food processor. Blitz to form a smooth consistency.
8 Serve the falafel with the freekeh salad and dollops of the creamy yoghurt & tahini sauce.
*Recipe ingredients sponsored by Faithful To Nature*
Happy Green Kitchen Days x
