Thursday 16 February 2012

Spicy Falafel Wraps with Yoghurt, Garlic and Mint Sauce and Chilli Salsa

Middle Eastern food is so brilliant - fresh flavours, spicy and colourful ingredients, and all within a stone's throw of our flat. Edgware Road is so full of fantastic delis and food emporia (plural of 'emporium' hopefully - or have I just invented a new word?), that I'm never far from inspiration.

This weekend, I'm going to have a Middle Eastern-themed party. Alongside these delicious falafel wraps, I think I'll also serve my Lamb Shwarma Wraps and my Lamb Kofte Quarterpounders.

I love a party - Saturday's get-together is starting at 5pm to allow for some early celebrating. One of my oldest friends, Jasmine, is travelling to far off lands to live, and we are all sending her and her boyfriend Guy off in style. In fairness, this is not the first time Jasmine has buggered off to live abroad. This is (by my reckoning) her third leaving do, but I don't care - any excuse for a party.

This dish comes in at £2 per large wrap - but as it's a party I would suggest that you make mini versions of all these three dishes and have a finger buffet. You could easily convert the kofte quarterpounders into little 'slider' burgers. Also, Morrisons Supermarkets do a packet of six 15cm diameter mini tortilla wraps, which are perfect for party food, if you don't fancy cutting these large warps into quarters.

Serves 4

Falafel

INGREDIENTS:

400g tin of chickpeas
1 large onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of fresh parsley
1 tablespoon of fresh coriander leaves
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground coriander seeds
Pinches of salt and pepper
Sunflower or vegetable oil, for frying

Pulse the ingredients together in a blender until you have a coarse paste. Form into sixteen golf-ball sized falafels and refrigerate until firm (1 hour approx). Deep fry until golden and crunchy (5 minutes approx).

-----------------------------------------------------------

Yoghurt, Garlic and Mint Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

300ml Greek natural yoghurt
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of dried mint
Pinches of salt and pepper

Mix ingredients together and set aside until needed.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Chilli Salsa

INGREDIENTS:

1 sweet red pepper, finely chopped
2 red chillis, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
Juice of a lime
A few drops of Tabasco
Pinches of salt and pepper

Mix ingredients together and set aside until needed.

-----------------------------------------------------------

To Assemble the Wraps

INGREDIENTS:

4 large tortilla wraps
1 cucmber, cut into 1cm dice
Half an iceberg lettuce, shredded
150g green olives, coarsely chopped

Heat the tortilla wraps on one side in a dry frying pan until slightly toasted. On the toasted side, spread a large spoonful of the yoghurt sauce and place 4 falafel balls in a straight line over the sauce. Dress with the vegetables and top with a large spoonful of the salsa. Roll the wrap into a fat cigar shape and then roll into a piece of foil to secure, twisting the ends. Cut the wraps in half to serve.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Hi, looking forward to getting your ideas, suggestions and recipes here at Potless Towers. Leave a comment and we'll get straight back to you.