Red Pepper & Carrot Falafel Pittas

In case you haven't guessed, i'm constantly trying to fool myself into eating more veggies and this is another way to sneak 'em in. This recipe makes a super filling lunch and you can make big batches of the falafel ahead of time. Both the tzatziki and falafel recipes are far from authentic, but they taste pretty good so I won't tell if you don't...

There's minimal chopping in this recipe, you just chuck everything into a food processor so it should be little hand friendly. Shaping the falafel can get pretty messy, but that's part of the fun right?!

Makes 12 falafels and 3 pitas

INGREDIENTS

• 1 red pepper

• 200g carrots

• 1 small tin of chickpeas (130g)

• 2 tsp cumin

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 20g parsley

• 2 tbsp plain flour

• 2 tbsp greek yoghurt

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 35g cucumber, diced

• 3 pita breads

• Big handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced

PRE-CHOPPING

• Peel and chop your carrots into big chunks

• Cut your pepper in half, remove the seeds and stem

• Mince your garlic

• Dice the cucumber

• Slice your tomatoes in half

KIT LIST

• Oven

• Food processor

• Toaster

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 180C

• Pop your carrot and pepper onto a baking tray, season with salt, pepper and a good glug of oil. Roast for 20 minutes.

• Meanwhile, make your easy Tzatiki. Put your yoghurt, cucumber and ⅓ of your minced garlic into a bowl along with a ⅓ of your lemon juice. Give a good mix and season with salt and pepper. Set aside for the flavours to develop.

• Once your carrot and pepper are done, put in a food processor along with the chickpeas, flour, cumin, parsley, the rest of the garlic, lemon juice and some salt and pepper. Whizz everything together until it’s blitzed. Now pop in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to firm up.

• Line a baking tray with foil and rub a tiny bit of oil onto it.

• Once your mixture is chilled, use an ice-cream scoop or spoon to make 15 balls of falafel. You can use 2 spoons to shape these into balls or just rub them between your hands if you’re up for getting messy! Pop these falafels onto your baking sheet then brush them (using a pastry brush or your finger) with a little bit of oil.

• Roast these for 15 minutes, flip them over and then roast for another 15. They should be firm and slightly browned once they’re ready. (Not burnt though!)

• Once your falafel are nearly done toast your pita and then get ready to assemble!

• Put a big scoop of tzatziki in your pita along with the tomatoes and 4 falafel, enjoy!