Carrot and pumpkin falafels

Tam West

My carrot and pumpkin falafels are a nice way of adding some extra veges into a kebab-shop favourite, and a great way of using up leftover vegetables from the night before. Try them with my cashew tzatziki. If you don't have a chance to make it, serve the falafels with a mix of coconut yoghurt, lemon juice, garlic, salt and herbs.

I have baked these falafels but if you want something a little extra crispy, you could always bake them for a shorter time, before finishing them off in a frying pan (just be careful as the sesame seeds will burn easily).

Ingredients

2 cups	Chickpeas, cooked, ideally home cooked and still with some firmness to them (Main)
¾ cup	Pumpkin, roasted, any variety will do (Main)
1 tsp	Lime, or lemon zest
2	Garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp	Cumin powder
1 Tbsp	Coriander seeds
½ tsp	Smoked paprika
3 Tbsp	Chickpea flour
½ tsp	Baking powder
½ tsp	Sea salt, use up to 1 tsp
1 Tbsp	Tahini
1	Red chilli, fresh, finely chopped or dried chilli flakes to taste
1	Carrot, finely grated (Main)
3 Tbsp	Chopped coriander
3 Tbsp	Chopped parsley
⅓ cup	Sesame seeds, for coating (Main)
1 drizzle	Olive oil, for roasting

Directions

1. Make sure you have the cooked chickpeas and roasted pumpkin ready. Heat the oven to 210C fan bake.
2. Place all the falafel ingredients (except the carrot, fresh coriander and parsley) into a food processor and blend by pulsing until the mixture comes together, and you can shape it easily in your hand without it falling apart.
3. If you need a little extra moisture, add a few teaspoons of water until it comes together; you don't want to over-blend the mixture though, so make sure you leave a little texture to it. If your mixture is too wet, add a little more of the chickpea flour.
4. Transfer to a bowl and add the carrot, parsley and coriander, mixing by hand until combined. Check the flavour of the mixture — you may need to add a little more salt or spice depending on the sweetness of your carrot and pumpkin.
5. Roll the falafel mixture into balls. Place the sesame seeds on a plate and roll the falafels in the mixture, giving them a light coating
6. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and flatten slightly. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 20 minutes or until the sesame seeds are golden and the falafels cooked all the way through.
7. Remove from the oven and serve straight away, drizzled with cashew tzatziki, spicy chilli sauce and fresh salad greens.

Megan May is the creator of Little Bird Organics and the Unbakery cafes.