Roasted Tomato Falafels with Tomato Yogurt, Pickles, Chopped Salad and Flat Breads
Full of tomato flavours, this falafel recipe is made with roasted tomatoes in the mixture and is served alongside a tomato yogurt dip. Add flatbreads and a chopped salad to complete this summery mezze spread.
Introduction
Roasted tomatoes do something insane to the falafel mixture in this recipe, giving the falafel an extra-moist interior as well as a gorgeous, red-tinged crust. I’ve given a recipe for falafels in a previous book, but those were bright green and made with fava beans. This version is with chickpeas and brick-red in colour. Using half the roasted tomatoes in the falafel mixture and the other half in the seasoned yogurt really ramps up the profile of the tomato. Add a chopped salad, with yet more tomatoes, and this could be considered peak tomato.
Ingredients
| 500g (1lb 2oz) | tomatoes, halved, or use cherry tomatoes |
| 2 tbsp | olive oil |
| 2-3 | garlic cloves, chopped |
| 350g (12oz) | dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water, then drained |
| 2 | shallots, finely chopped |
| 50g (1¾oz) | smoked sundried tomatoes, drained and chopped, or use 2 tbsp tomato purée (concentrated paste) |
| 2 tsp | ground coriander |
| 2 tsp | ground cumin |
| 1 tsp | unsmoked sweet paprika |
| 1 tsp | salt, plus more to season |
| neutral oil (such as sunflower or vegetable), for deep-frying | |
| freshly ground black pepper | |
| To serve | |
|---|---|
| 100g (3½oz) | natural (plain) yogurt |
| tomatoes, cucumbers and spring onions (scallions), chopped into uniform dice and seasoned with a big pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon | |
| flat breads, warmed | |
| 1 heaped tbsp | tahini, mixed with a splash of warm water to the consistency of double (heavy) cream |
| hot sauce of choice (see page 25 of Tomato to make your own) | |
| Middle Eastern pickles (chilli, carrot, turnip and so on) | |
| A small bunch of | flat-leaf parsley, mint or coriander (cilantro), leaves picked and roughly chopped |
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4.
Put the tomatoes, cut side up, in a roasting pan and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with a good seasoning of salt and roast for 15–25 minutes, until very soft and starting to caramelize a little. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Remove the roasted tomatoes from the pan, reserving any liquid left in the pan to add to the yogurt.
Using a food processor, blend the roasted tomatoes with the garlic until smooth. Set aside 100g (3½oz) of this mixture in a bowl, leaving the remainder in the food processor.
Add the chickpeas to the food processor, along with the shallots, sundried tomatoes or purée, the spices and salt and blend until you have a coarse paste. Chill the mixture in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Heat a 5cm (2in) depth of oil in a saucepan over a moderate–high heat and fry off a teaspoon of the mixture to check the seasoning. Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper, if necessary.
Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/315°F/Gas 2–3.
Mix the reserved blended tomatoes and any tomato roasting juices with the yogurt for serving and season really well with salt. Transfer to a serving bowl and putto one side.
Test the oil temperature – you need it at 180°C/350°F on a digital thermometer (alternatively drop a thin slice of ginger or cube of bread into the oil – if it floats and sizzles, turning golden and crisp within 60 seconds, the oil is at a good temperature to deep-fry).
The mixture is quite wet and the oil is very hot, so do be careful from here. using two spoons (one to shape and one to scrape the mixture off), drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil – it should bubble and fry, quickly turning crisp and golden brown in about 2 minutes. Flip the falafels over to fry on the other side for1½–2 minutes more. Work in small batches, 3 or 4 falafels at a time, removing the cooked falafels with a slotted spoon and setting them aside to keep warm in the oven while you make the next batch, until you’ve used up all the mixture.
To serve, pile some chopped tomato salad on to the flat breads, add some falafel, then the tomato-seasoned yogurt, a slick of tahini, hot sauce (if using), and some pickles and herbs.
Reviews
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