Falafel Wrap

When it comes to food that’s delicious, visually appealing and good for you, Mediterraneans have the edge. Which is why Ehla’s feasts, inspired by dishes from Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, and Israel, have such a following. As the street-food favourites settle into their permanent home in the Design District’s incredible new food hall, Canteen, they share their how-to guide to making the perfect falafels by hand, and to whipping them up into the best pitta wrap you could ever hope to eat. Grab your friends – this is too good to keep to yourself and doesn’t food taste better when it’s shared anyway? – and get your chickpeas at the ready.

Serves 4 to 5 people

Ingredients:

• 50g red cabbage
• 100g white cabbage
• 50g grated carrot
• 50g sultanas
• 50ml pomegranate molasses
• Half a cucumber, sliced
• 50g pickles (of any kind, we prefer pickled turnips)
• 400ml tahini sauce
• 4-6 khobez flatbreads
• 1 aubergine
• 1 litre rapeseed oil
• 200ml lemon juice
• 150ml olive oil
• 200g canned chickpeas
• 500g raw chickpeas
• 5 cloves minced garlic
• Half a minced white onion
• 100g falafel spices
• 100g sesame seeds
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 100ml cold water

For the crispy falafels

Soak 500g of chickpeas in cold water overnight. They will become soft and double in size.

Using a food processor, crush the soaked chickpeas until they become minced, add three cloves of minced garlic and onion and blend for a further five minutes. Add the cold water, baking powder, sesame seeds and falafel spices to the ground chickpeas and mix very well. Once everything is combined, set aside. For the houmous

Drain and wash 200g of canned chickpeas and blend in a food processor with two cloves of minced garlic. Add 100ml of lemon juice, 250ml of tahini, 100ml olive oil and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth.

For the Eastern Mediterranean slaw

Chop or use a mandolin to grate the red and white cabbage into thin shredded strips. Grate the carrots and mix the cabbage and carrots together. Mix in the golden sultanas and then add 100ml of lemon juice, all the pomegranate molasses and 50ml of olive oil. Mix all of this together and set aside so the cabbage can begin to slightly pickle in the juices of the lemon.

Frying your falafel and aubergine

Peel the skin from the aubergine – this removes any bitterness. Chop into chunks or slices (whichever you prefer), spread out on a plate and very gently sprinkle salt over it. Leave to stand for five minutes.

Using a deep saucepan, heat 1 litre of rapeseed oil to around 180–200°C. Once the oil has reached the desired temperature, slowly submerge the aubergine chunks and let them fry, turning occasionally so they are evenly cooked. If the oil is at the correct temperature, they should be cooked in under a minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove the aubergines when golden brown and place on a piece of kitchen towel to soak up any excess oil. Now it's time to cook the star of the show, the falafels! If you are able to get your hands on a falafel maker (usually found online) then this will really ease your falafel-making life. However, using your hands or a spoon to make a circular shape is also possible. Take your set-aside chickpea mixture and carefully shape it into balls – there should be enough for around 25 falafels. Slowly and carefully submerge the falafel into the hot oil. You’ll know they’re cooked when they’ve turned dark brown and the outside is crispy. Using a slotted spoon, remove your cooked falafels from the oil and place on some kitchen towel to soak up any excess oil.

Assembling your falafel pitta

Warm a flat frying pan on the stove top and place your large Lebanese khobez pitta in the pan – this will gently warm the bread but not toast it. Once your bread is warmed on both sides and feels fluffy, remove it from the pan. Using a large spoon, slather a big dollop of houmous onto the bread. Next, add a generous handful of the slaw, cucumber, a small handful of fried aubergine and a few pickles. Above the salad, place four hot and crispy falafels and smash them against the khobez with your fist! Then add a generous drizzle of tahini. Fold the khobez into a wrap and devour your falafel pitta.

Find Ehla in the Design District’s new food hall, Canteen