LEFTOVER FALAFEL

Who hasn't experienced it: you've cooked too much rice again, forgotten a courgette in the fridge and the carrots don't look as crunchy as they did 6 days ago when you bought them. The usual problem with leftovers. You don't want to just throw them away, but most of the time you don't really have an idea what to cook with them and end up throwing them away, even though there is nothing wrong with them except for a few dents and black spots.

But don't worry, here comes the definitive solution to your leftover problem. Because we too, like so many, had the problem that at the end of the week there was an ensemble of food leftovers in the fridge waiting to be used. And why shouldn't you be able to cook up something delicious with these ingredients? Motivated to fight food waste and to show that even food that doesn’t look that flawless anymore, can be turned into a delicious dish, we came up with the recipe for the leftover falafel.

Basically, you can incorporate vegetables that aren’t the freshest anymore into any kind of fritters or roasties, or you can also incorporate the grated vegetables into a falafel ready mix, it makes the falafel and fritters extra soft and juicy, and tastes simply delicious! It's the same with herbs. It often happens that you buy a bunch of parsley or chives, and at the end of the week they sit in a glass of water, all shrivelled and limp, waiting to be used. And just as with vegetables, you can also use sad-looking herbs without any problems in any kind of fritters or curries, but also in pestos.

One vegetable or 'leftover vegetable' that we would like to recommend to everyone here, because many people might not really know what to do with it, is the stalk of the broccoli. You can grate it with a vegetable grater to make fine vegetable confetti (as I like to call it) and use it in all kinds of dishes. It tastes great in salads, but can also be added to any curries, soups or roasts, and is also super healthy. A win-win situation!

I’ll stop talking now and let you on to the super simple, super quick leftover falafel recipe. The ingredients are only approximate, because you can actually replace all the ingredients with other ingredients, so instead of chickpeas you can also use any legumes and also with the vegetables you can just use whatever you find in the fridge. This recipe is simply meant to inspire and motivate you to be more aware of the 'leftovers' in your own fridge and to get creative, because you should never just throw food away because it is no longer perfect, but think about how you can still use it in the best possible way to make something delicious.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE FALAFEL

Cooked or soaked chickpeas (approx. 250g)
Cooked rice or cooked lentils (approx. 150g)
Bunch of herbs (parsley, mint, coriander, oregano, chives)
Spices (salt, pepper, paprika, turmeric)
1 onion
2 carrots
1-2 zucchini
1-2 broccoli stalks
some chickpea flour

Additional

Yoghurt, chives, salt and pepper to make a dipping sauce

Preparation

1) Put the chickpeas, rice, onion, herbs and spices in a food processor and blend until combined (1-2 min). Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

2) Grate the carrots, zucchini and broccoli with a vegetable grater. Season with salt and pepper.

3) Add the grated vegetables to the chickpea mixture and mix in. If necessary (for consistency) add in 1-2 tbsp chickpea flour or regular flour.

4) Now take some of the mixture in your hands and form a small ball. Continue doing so untilall the mixture is used up.

5) In a small saucepan, add 4cm vegetable oil and heat to approx. 180°C. Fry the falafel in the oil until golden brown. Alternatively, place the falafel on a baking tray, brush with oil and bake in the oven at 190°C for 20 minutes. OR if you have one, you can also make the falafels in an Airfryer.