Falafel ‘sausage’ rolls

There’s nothing piggy about these sausage rolls, they’re as vegetarian as they come. They rely on one of my favourite take away treats, falafel. I first ate falafel at an ungodly hour on the streets of Utrecht. My friend and I had been looking for something to line our stomachs with and happened upon a kiosk selling falafel housed in soft pitta with crunchy slaw and chilli sauce. Here the falafel is encased in buttery puff pastry, though I still recommend a side of chilli sauce – maybe even some hummus too. Beware that three cloves of garlic is actually rather garlicky – so reduce if you prefer.

FOR THE FALAFEL:

INGREDIENTS

240g tinned chickpeas

2 tablespoons groundnut or sunflower oil

1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes, (optional)

1 lemon, finely zested and juiced

1 tablespoon greek yoghurt

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

60g frozen peas

FOR THE ASSEMBLY:

500g puff pastry, chilled

plain flour, for dusting

1 egg

pinch salt

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick greaseproof paper. Blend all the falafal ingredients except the peas using a stick blender or food processor until well blended but with a little texture still remaining. Add the frozen peas and mix through with a spoon.

Roll the puff pastry out onto a well-floured surface using a floured rolling pin to a thickness of a pound coin and into a 35 x 24 cm rectangle. Cut the sheet of pastry in half lengthways so you have two long strips measuring 35 x 12 cm then divide the filling between the two, fashioning it into a sausage shape along the middle of each strip of pastry. Beat the egg with a pinch of salt. Brush the egg wash along both long edges of each then pull the long edges up to meet in the middle, pinching firmly to secure. Lay both of the long sausage rolls on their side, with the pinched edges facing you, and cut each into 5 equal sausage rolls. Place on the baking tray, at least 3 cm apart.

Brush every roll with plenty of egg wash and bake for 35–40 minutes until golden brown in colour and baked through. Eat warm or cold.

#normalmum #falafel #chickpea #garlic #sausagerolls