We simply had to make Our Lebanese Falafel this Veganuary! This is our go-to recipe when the fridge is looking rather empty, as it uses lots of store cupboard ingredients and can easily be adjusted to use whatever you have. Humble chickpeas flavoured with garlic, cumin and turmeric transform into crispy patties that are ideal for serving on a bed of veggie couscous! We served our Falafel with another Middle Eastern favourite of ours – rich and spicy Shatta Sauce!
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Inspiration Behind Lebanese Falafel Recipe
I first tried falafel when I was doing a bachelor’s degree and working part-time at a university cafe. Sandwiches that didn’t sell were distributed among staff members to take home at the end of the day. And for some ridiculous reason, Lebanese Falafel & Carrot Sandwich was always there – unwanted and left for me to take home. Lucky me, because I loved it! Back in the day, I didn’t even question what falafel was made of, I just knew it tasted good.
In a way, I have recreated this sandwich in my Middle Eastern Falafel recipe. It has wheat in a form of couscous, carrots, and the star of the show – Middle Eastern Falafel! Instead of mayo, however, I love serving Falafel with yoghurt and Middle Eastern Shatta Sauce.
What Is Shatta Sauce?
Shatta Sauce is a rich and spicy condiment, popular in Egypt, Palestine and Jordan. Made with lots of chillies, Shatta on its own is certainly not for the faint-hearted, but mixed with yoghurt (in the right proportion), it can be enjoyed by everyone, not only spicy food lovers! Sometimes left for days to ferment, our version of Red Shatta Sauce is a quick and easy version that you can serve straight away!
Method
This Falafel and Couscous recipe has three elements: chickpea nuggets, veggie couscous and shatta sauce.
Step 1: Make Shatta Sauce
In a pestle & mortar or a food processor, place the chopped chillies, herbs, cumin, vinegar, olive oil, vinegar and some salt and pepper. Grind into a rough paste.
Tip the paste into a small saucepan, add the tomato paste and water and heat until it comes to a boil and thickens slightly. Then take off the heat and leave to cool.
Step 2: Make Lebanese Falafel
First, drain the chickpeas and reserve the aquafaba (the liquid that the chickpeas were in). There is no need to rinse your chickpeas for this recipe.
With a fork, mash your chickpeas, leaving some bigger bits unmashed for texture.
Add cumin, turmeric, flour, breadcrumbs, garlic, chilli, parsley, shallot and tahini. Season with some salt and pepper. Add 4 tablespoon of the reserved aquafaba (chickpea tin liquid) and mix well to combine. Breadcrumbs in this recipe are used to absorb and retain some of the liquid when cooking, which ensures moist falafel (we all had dry flavourless falafel and this is not it!)
Form 9-12 balls (about a large tablespoon each) and then flatten them between your palms slightly.
Place them on a lightly floured board, cover with cling film and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up. You can store the patties in the fridge overnight if you wish.
When you’re ready to cook, heat 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Add the Falafel and fry for 3 minutes on both sides until golden and crispy.
Step 3: Prepare the Couscous
Start preparing your couscous whilst falafel is in the fridge. Chop carrots into small cubes and cut the red onion into wedges.
In a hot frying pan with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, fry carrots, onions and cumin for approx 5 minutes on medium-high heat, stirring, until starting to soften but still retain the crunch.
Place couscous in a large bowl and crumble in a vegetable stock cube. Mix and then pour boiling water over the couscous (the recommended amount on the packet). Cover with a large plate and leave to soak for 5-8 minutes.
Fluff up the couscous with a fork, then mix in the carrots and onion. Divide the veggie couscous between plates, top with Lebanese falafel patties and serve with some red shatta sauce and yoghurt!
Other Chickpea Recipes
If our Middle Eastern Falafel isn’t quite what you want to use your chickpeas for, have a look at our other delicious recipes, where chickpeas are the true star of the dish:
- North African Spiced Chickpea & Feta Pie
- Green Bean and Chickpea Biryani with Crispy Onions
- Smoky Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas
Recipe Card
Lebanese Falafel And Couscous With Shatta Sauce
Equipment
- Pestle & Mortar or Food Processor (to make Shatta)
Ingredients
For the Falafel:
- 1 tin chickpeas (400g) drained (liquid reserved)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 20 g plain flour
- 30 g breadcrumbs
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- ½ fresh chilli finely chopped
- 5 g parsley or coriander finely chopped
- 1 small shallot finely chopped
- 30 g tahini
For Cous Cous:
- 175 g couscous
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 200 g carrots cut into small cubes
- 1 red onion cut into 8 wedges
- ½ teaspoon cumin
For the Red Shatta:
- 2 chillis (red, green or a mixture), chopped finely
- 15 g parsley or coriander, or a mixture chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 20 ml water
- 100 ml plain yoghurt vegan, if required
Instructions
To Make Falafel:
- With a fork, mash your chickpeas, leaving some bigger bits unmashed for texture. Add cumin, turmeric, flour, breadcrumbs, garlic, chilli, parsley, shallot and tahini. Season with some salt and pepper. Add 4 tablespoon of the reserved aquafaba (chickpea tin liquid) and mix well to combine.
- Form 9-12 balls (about a large tablespoon each) and then flatten them between your palms slightly.
- Place them on a lightly floured board, cover with cling film and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
- When you're ready to cook, heat 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Add the Falafel and fry for 3 minutes on each side until golden and crispy.
To Make Shatta:
- In a pestle & mortar or a food processor, place the chopped chillies, herbs, cumin, vinegar, olive oil, vinegar and some salt and pepper. Grind into a rough paste.
- Tip the paste into a small saucepan, add the tomato paste and water and heat until it comes to a boil and thickens slightly. Then take off the heat and leave to cool.
Make the CousCous:
- In a hot frying pan with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, fry carrots, onions and cumin for approx 5 minutes on medium-high heat, stirring, until starting to soften but still retain crunch.
- Place couscous in a large bowl and crumble in a vegetable stock cube. Pour boiling water over the couscous (the recommended amount on the packet), cover with a large plate and leave to soak for 5-8 minutes.
- Fluff up the couscous with a fork, then mix in the carrots and onion. Divide the couscous between plates, top with falafel patties and serve with some red shatta and yoghurt!
Nutrition
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