Middle Eastern falafel wraps should be a staple in every vegan and non-vegan diet. The falafels themselves freeze really well so make a big batch for great quick leftovers to throw in a salad or a sandwich!

Falafel Wraps

Prep time: 30 minutes plus 1 hour inactive
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, plus 1 hour inactive
Yield: 4 pitas with extra falafels for freezing

INGREDIENTS

For the Falafels

2 cups of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 white onion
½ cup parsley
½ cup cilantro
1 ½ tablespoons of flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon chili flakes
2 teaspoons cumin
fresh cracked pepper to taste
Canola oil for frying

For the Wraps

4 medium sized pitas
1 tomato, diced
Shredded lettuce
Diced pickles
Thinly sliced red onion
Baba Ganoush (as much as you like!)

DIRECTIONS

Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with cold water (water should be approximately 3 inches above the chickpeas). Leave them soaking overnight in the refrigerator.

Drain chickpeas and place in a food processor with the onion. Pulse until a rough coarse meal forms, and then add all remaining ingredients “for the falafels” and continue pulsing. You want the ingredients to be well incorporated but not to form a paste. Place the mixture in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate for minimum 1 hour (up to 4 hours).

Form the mixture into small balls approximately ½ the size of a golf ball. Fill a large skillet with approximately 2 inches of oil and heat to medium. Place falafel balls in hot oil at least 1 ½ inches apart. Fry the falafels for 3 minutes a side (if they are burning during this timeframe then your oil is too hot – lower the temperature to medium low and try again). Once finished, place on a bed of paper towels to absorb any extra grease.

Eat these while hot! I like to warm my pitas quickly in a fry pan with just a teensy bit of oil and some seasoning salt for extra flavour. I then load on the baba ganoush and veggies, squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top and go to town. You can also make an easy tahini sauce or throw some hummus on there in place of the baba ganoush. If you are not vegan I also love to serve this with tzatziki.

You will find that the falafel recipe will make a lot of extra falafels which I personally think is great. These freeze very easily (once they have cooled down from frying) and so whenever I am needing a quick lunch or dinner I grab some from the freezer, microwave them quickly and eat them atop of a salad.