Black bean falafel

Method

1. Pour the beans on to a clean kitchen towel and pat to dry.
2. In a food processor, add the dried beans and the remaining falafel ingredients, and blend. Roll the mixture into 12 equal sized balls. If the mixture is too sticky, you may want to add a small amount of plain flour.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Once hot, add the falafel balls and cook, turning frequently, until brown on all sides.
4. Remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack; excess oil may drip from the falafel, so you might want to put some paper towel under the rack.
5. Fill the warmed pita breads with lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber; taking care when opening the pita as they can release steam. Add 3 falafel to each pita bread, and drizzle over with tahini and a squeeze of lime juice, then serve.
6. Top tip: If you make more than you need, after frying the falafel, they can be refrigerated for 2 days or frozen. When needed, preheat the oven to 200^oC/Fan 180^oC and cook for 12­–15 minutes (about 25 minutes from frozen).