Vegan Spiced Falafel using Ras El Hanout and Aleppo Pepper

Ras El Hanout is a fantastic spice blend that elevates any dish you add it too. It is Middle Eastern and often can be found added to tagines or roasted vegetables. It contains all sorts of wonderful spices including coriander, all spice, cumin, cloves etc. To really appreciate the flavours of the Ras El Hanout i have included toasted coriander seeds, cumin seeds and Aleppo pepper in this recipe; which should draw those spices prominently to the forefront flavour of the falafel. I toasted them deliberatley to release a stronger bite to the spices.

My falafel is best served on a flatbread with my vegan garlicky butter bean, preserved lemon and mint puree and dressed with fresh mint and more lemon if you have some to hand.

Check out the garlicky butter bean and preserved lemon puree recipe here: https://www.crowthercooks.com/blog/vegan-garlicky-butterbeanpreserved-lemon-and-mint-puree

Can i freeze these?

Yes, you can freeze them. Falafel can be frozen uncooked or cooked but they last longer uncooked for up to six months in the freezer whereas they only usually stay good for up to three months frozen when cooked. So you can do these in advance for when you want to enjoy them or even better enjoy them right away freshly cooked!

Makes approx. 18 Falafel balls. Prep Time: 15 minutes. Cooking time: 5 - 10 minutes

Ingredients:

-Can of Chickpeas

-62g Chickpea flour

-62g Bulgar Wheat

-1 small chopped onion

-1 teaspoon Ras El Hanout

-1 teaspoon Coriander seeds (or substitute for half a teaspoon of ground coriander)

-1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (or substitute for half a teaspoon of ground cumin)

-1/2 teaspoon Aleppo Pepper (or use normal chilli flakes as a substitute)

-3 cloves of garlic

-1 teaspoon of baking powder

-Salt and Pepper

-Sprinkling of breadcrumbs

Method:

-Cover the Bulgar Wheat in hot water - enough to fully submerge all grains and leave to soak for at least 30 minutes.

-In the meanwhile toast over a low heat the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and Aleppo pepper(or chilli flakes if you are using a substitute) for a few minutes until you see a slight golden tinge and smell the aromas. (Avoid smoking the spices by gently tossing them in the pan.)

-Place the toasted spices in a pestle and mortar and grind into a fine blend.

-in a separate bowl, mix on teaspoon of ras el hanout to a glug of oil and mix.

-Drain a can of chickpeas and add to your food processor/blender. To that add in the chopped onion, toasted spices, the ras el hanout oil mix, bulgar wheat, chickpea flour, garlic and baking powder with a dash of salt and pepper. (Alternatively you could mash by hand if you don’t own a food processor.)

-The falafel mix should have a thick yet slightly sticky texture. Spoon out the mix (I use a ice cream scoop to get a good portion size per ball) and roll into balls using your hands.

-Sprinkle over with breadcrumbs (optional - but it adds a nice crunchy texture).

-(At this stage if you don’t want to fry them to enjoy right away you could put the uncooked balls into a freezer which will store nicely for up to six months.)

-Once all are in the shapes of balls or patties put in a deep fat fryer (or air fryer or pan with oil in) and fry until the outside of the balls have turned a golden brown. This should take max 5 minutes per ball.