Why not try Falafels?

I first tried falafels when I went to a friend's house at the beginning of the month. They were delicious and I decided to try and make them - something I finally managed yesterday. They are very quick and easy to make, filling and cheap - definite student food! The recipe is adapted from the BBC Good Food Website.

For two servings you will need:

• Small can of chickpeas (about 35p in Tesco)


• Half an onion


• Some parsley (or any other herbs you have lying around)


• Egg

This is what you do:

• Fry the onion until softened (probably for about 5 minutes or so)


• Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then put into a bowl and mash (I used a potato masher to begin with and finished the job with a fork)


• Stir in the chopped parsley (easiest to do this with scissors), onion and a bit of egg to bind it


• Form into balls with your hand, flatten slightly and then fry until nicely brown on both sides

You can eat these warm or cold. I had them in a warmed tortilla with a little lettuce. I also added some roasted red pepper houmous and I think they would be really nice with roasted red pepper. You could also add some cumin or coriander, but I didn't have any.

I have also found that raw carrot dipped into the red pepper houmous is really yummy (and this is from someone who really doesn't like raw carrots) - try it and feel lovely and healthy.