Our Recipe of the Month – Falafel Wraps with Yogurt Dip

Falafel wraps with yogurt dip These take a bit of time, although using canned chickpeas/garbanzos speeds it up. They should be a nice ‘fluffy’ texture when cooked. This makes plenty of falafels as I don’t see the point in all the work for just a few, so put any leftovers in a sealed container and keep in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Makes about 30 falafels

Prep: 30 mins, plus chilling

Cook: 20 mins

2 x 400g/14oz cans of chickpeas/ garbanzos, drained
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1–2 tsp ground cumin (depending on how much you like the taste)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 handful of flatleaf parsley leaves, chopped
about 2–3 tbsp plain/all-purpose flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
sunflower/rapeseed oil, for deep-frying wraps of your choice
baby cos/romaine lettuce, trimmed and torn
4–6 tomatoes, roughly chopped
lemon wedges, to serve
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the yogurt dip
1 handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
500g/1lb 2oz/21⁄4 cup soy yogurt

1 line a baking/cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2 Put the chickpeas/garbanzos, onion, garlic, cumin and coriander in a food processor, season with salt and pepper and whiz to combine. Add the parsley and whiz again so you have a thick paste. taste and season some more if needed. scrape the mixture into a bowl, tip in the flour and mix together. You may need to add more flour later.

3 With wet hands, scoop up a walnut-sized ball and lightly roll. if the mixture seems too wet, add a little more flour, but be careful not to add too much. Repeat until you have used all the mixture, placing the balls on the prepared baking/ cookie sheet, and put in the refrigerator to chill for a couple of hours.

4 to make the yogurt dip, stir the mint into the yogurt, season to taste with salt and pepper and mix well. Put in the refrigerator until needed.

5 Add the oil to a large pan or deep-frying pan – it needs to be 5cm/1¾in deep. heat the oil to 180°c/350°F, or when a small cube of bread sizzles immediately when dropped into the oil. if the balls are not very firm, roll them lightly in flour before frying. Add just a few balls at a time otherwise the temperature of the oil will drop and they won’t cook as well or as evenly. lower them into the oil using a slotted spoon, and cook for about 3 minutes each side, or until golden all over. Drain on paper towels while you fry the rest.

6 Fill each wrap with a handful of crisp lettuce leaves, 2–3 falafels, some tomato pieces and a dollop of mint yogurt. Add a squeeze of lemon, then roll up and enjoy.

For non-vegans…
Add 200g/8oz minced/ ground lamb to the mixture in step 2 to make lamb falafel


If this mouth-watering recipe has inspired you to try some more recipes from Virtually Vegan
head over to our giveaway page to win a copy. Alternatively, you can buy your copy HERE + Free UK delivery.

Credit info:

Virtually Vegan. All-vegan recipes with a non-vegan twist

By Heather Whinney

Published By Nourish Books