Board Bean Falafels (Take Two)

I mentioned in my first post of 2015 that I was concentrating on eating more nutritious foods this year in order to establish good strong immune systems for my family and I. We had such a horror year last year for illness. We literally were sick constantly from mid March until New years eve and it was really taxing on us (physically and emotionally). There's nothing like bad health to motivate a change in your lifestyle. Although we didn't eat overly badly, we have always eaten a lot of carbohydrates which tend to be less nutritious than say, meat and veggies.

Now I know there is a lot of chatter out there at the moment about Paleo and sugar free eating. Whilst I don't like to label myself to any specific eating style, I will say that for the most part, I have been moving towards this style of diet. That said, I can't claim to be disciplined enough to follow these diets to the T because we still eat some dairy, legumes, bread and chocolate! I have however learnt a lot from reading about these styles of eating and I have modelled a lot of what I'm doing around them. In summary, for me it's about eating fresh seasonal foods, locally grown and preferably organic. As little processed food and as much made from scratch my me as I can be bothered doing. I like to know where my food comes from.

So lets get to it. At the moment, my garden is giving me lots of fresh produce to work with. A long time ago I blogged a recipe for broad bean falafels and whilst it was good, I have tweaked it and come up with a recipe that is even better. We eat these like burgers in a bread roll or with a plate of veggies/salad. I also understand that not many people like broad beans but honestly, these taste nothing like a bean on their own. Still not convinced? No worries, use peas instead of beans.

Recipe:

1/2 cup of sprouted chickpeas (if you can be bothered otherwise use tinned)
2 cups of broad beans
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 lemon (juice and grated rind)
A handful of parsley
1/2 tsp ground cumin (heaped tsp)
1-2 tsp harissa or 1 red chilli (leave this out if you have kids that don't like "hot")
3 tbs plain flour or buckwheat flour
salt and pepper
oil to fry (or for a healthier option use duck fat)

1 - Cook the peas and beans until soft
2 - In a food processor, blend all the ingredients together
3 - Heat the oil in a frypan (about 1/2cm deep)
4 - Flip them when each side is golden (use a fork)

Serving ideas:

Natural yoghurt
Sauerkraut
Grated carrots
Lettuce
Bread rolls (wholemeal)
Tomato
Cheese
Alfalfa sprouts

I'm really in love with this recipe, a good thing too given that I have what feels like an endless supply in the garden. Be brave and give them a go too, you won't regret it.

Alex