Black bean falafel

4 votes, average: 4.00 out of 54 votes, average: 4.00 out of 54 votes, average: 4.00 out of 54 votes, average: 4.00 out of 54 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5 4 rating(s)
Black bean falafel pitta wraps

A healthy vegan lunch inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine

30 minutes

Serves 4

Sarah Drabble

Recipe by: Sarah Drabble | Healthy You Editor

Pulses, such as lentils, peas and beans, are a great way to reshape your plate. They’re a good source of fibre, count towards your 5 A DAY and can help you cut down on red meat, too.

Sarah Drabble

Recipe by: Sarah Drabble | Healthy You Editor

Pulses, such as lentils, peas and beans, are a great way to reshape your plate. They’re a good source of fibre, count towards your 5 A DAY and can help you cut down on red meat, too.

Ingredients

  • 2 x 400g can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • ½ onion, diced
  • Large handful fresh coriander
  • 1–2 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • ½ ­–1 teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
  • ½ lime, juice only
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
  • 4 wholemeal pita breads, warmed
  • 160g little gem lettuce, washed and shredded
  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced
  • 10cm cucumber, diced
  • 4 teaspoons tahini

CALORIES: 423

FAT: 8.8

5 A DAY: 3

SALT: 0.9

SUGAR: 6.5

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 200oC/Fan 180oC and cook for 12­–15 minutes (about 25 minutes from frozen).

Instead of black beans, you can try chickpeas or other canned beans in this recipe

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