Try Mob Kitchen’s recipes for National Vegetarian Week (May 15-21) – each one feeds four people for under a tenner
The Ultimate Homemade Falafel Pittas
Crunchy, fried falafel option for the indulgent mob. Baked falafel for the
healthy mob. These pittas will blow your minds.
Notes:
DRIED CHICKPEAS ARE KEY. You can not do this dish with soaked chickpeas
in a tin. The night before cooking, just pour the dried chickpeas into a bowl,
cover with warm water, and soak overnight.
Cooking Time (includes preparation time): 2 Hours
Ingredients:
For The Falafel:
500g Dried Chickpeas – £1.15
1 Bunch Fresh Parsley – £0.70
1 Bunch Fresh Coriander – £0.70
Cumin – £0.85
Cayenne Pepper – £0.85
1 Brown Onion – £0.16
Garlic – £0.30
Plain Flour – £0.40
For The Salad:
4 Tomatoes – £0.50
1 Cucumber – £0.50
Bunch of Mint – £0.70
1 Lemon – £0.30
Parsley – (Use leftover from falafel)
For The Assembly:
4 Pittas – £0.50
Pot of Hummus – £0.90
Pickled Green Chillies – £1.11
Total Cost – £9.62 – This covers absolutely everything. All we assume you
have in your kitchen beforehand is SALT, PEPPER AND OLIVE OIL. Scroll to
the bottom of the page to find out which shops you can buy all of the
ingredients from for under £10.
Method:
- Pour dried chickpeas into a bowl, cover with warm water and soak
overnight.
- Preheat oven to 180°C/356°F.
- Start with the falafel mix. Into a blender, add 500g dried chickpeas
(soaked overnight), 1 roughly chopped onion, 3 cloves of garlic, a
large handful of coriander, a large handful of parsley, 2 tablespoons of
flour, 2 heaped teaspoons of cumin and one heaped teaspoon of
cayenne pepper. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pulse the mixture in the blender. You want the texture of the mix to be
rough so don’t overdo it. 3/4 5 second pulses should do the trick.
- Check the falafel mixture can stick in a ball. If it is too loose, just add a
bit more flour.
- Once you are able to stick the mixture together, make little discs,
around 4 cm wide, and 3cm deep. Line up the discs on a sheet of
baking paper, and put them in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up.
The mixture should make about 20 discs.
- Salad time. Crack on with this while the falafels are chilling. Finely
chop 4 tomatoes and put into a bowl. Peel a cucumber and chop into
chunks, and add this to the bowl. Add a handful of chopped mint, a
handful of chopped parsley, the juice of a lemon salt, pepper, olive oil.
Mix everything together and set aside.
- Falafel time. We have designed two options for you. The first is baked
falafel – less crunch than the fired version, but much healthier. For this
option, line a baking tray with baking paper, and place your falafel on
the paper. Drizzle lightly with olive oil on one side, and then turn over
the falafel and drizzle olive oil on the other side. Pat in the oil with
your fingers, and then place in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping the
falafel after 20 minutes.
- The fried option is a bit more unhealthy, but much crunchier. For this,
take a wide frying pan and pour in some sunflower oil. You should
pour in enough that it comes up by 1.5cm in the pan. Heat up the oil.
To check it is hot enough, just put in a tiny bit of leftover falafel
mixture. When it starts bubbling, you are good to go. Place your
falafels in the pan, and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until each
side is brown and crisp. When ready, remove falafels from the pan and
place on some kitchen paper. Lie some kitchen paper on top of them,
and pat off the oil.
- Assembly time. Warm your pittas. Layer one side with a generous
helping of hummus. Spoon in some of the salad. Then, take your
baked or fried falafels and break them into the pittas – squeeze in 4 or
5 discs into each one. Lay some pickled green chillies on top, spoon
over a bit more hummus and you’re there. Enjoy.
Smoky, Cheesy Sweetcorn & Black Bean Quesadillas
A Mexican classic for the mob.
Notes:
Smoked paprika is the key here. Don’t get the unsmoked stuff.
Cooking Time (includes preparation time): 1 Hour
Ingredients:
2 Large Avocados – £1.80
2 Peppers (Red, Yellow or Orange, NOT Green) – £1.00
1 Brown Onion – £0.16
400g Black Beans – £0.75
Smoked Paprika – £0.85
1 Lime – £0.30
Bunch of Coriander – £0.70
2 Corn on the Cobs – £1.00
450g Cheddar – £2.50
8 White Tortilla Wraps – £0.90
Total Cost – £9.96 – This covers absolutely everything. All we assume you
have in your kitchen beforehand is SALT, PEPPER AND OLIVE OIL. Scroll to
the bottom of the page to find out which shops you can buy all of the
ingredients from for under £10.
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180°C/356°F.
- Finely chop 2 peppers and 1 onion. Place in frying pan on medium
heat. Once softened, Add three teaspoons smoked paprika. Allow to
soften further for another 5 minutes.
- Wrap two corn on the cobs in tin foil. Place on baking tray and place in
oven for 20 minutes, turning half way through. When ready, remove
from oven and slice off the sweet corn and set aside in a bowl.
- Add your black beans to the pan. Add salt, pepper and a handful of
chopped coriander. Mash everything together and remove from heat.
- Salsa time. Scoop out flesh of two avocados into a bowl. Add 4 finely
chopped tomatoes, a handful of coriander, the juice of a lime and
season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Mash everything together and
put in the fridge.
- Quesadilla time. Heat a frying pan. Drizzle in some olive oil. Place a
white tortilla wrap on the pan. Scatter some cheddar over it. Spoon
some black bean mix on top of that. Scatter over some sweet corn
kernels. Scatter more cheddar on top, and cover with another wrap.
Cook for 3-4 minutes, and then flip it. The wraps should be golden,
and the cheese should be melted. When this is so, remove from the
heat and slice into quarters.
- Serve the quesadillas with the cold salsa!
Vegan Cauliflower, Chickpea & Coconut Milk Curry
Creamy, healthy, delicious, vegan.
Notes:
Cauliflower is key here so don’t miss out on it!
Cooking Time (includes preparation time): 40 Minutes
Ingredients:
600g Chickpeas – £0.54
2 Limes – £0.60
Ground Coriander – £0.85
Garam Masala – £0.85
Turmeric – £0.85
Cumin – £0.85
Red Chillies – £0.60
1 Cauliflower – £1.00
Bunch of Coriander – £0.70
Coconut Milk – £0.75
4 Tomatoes – £0.51
2 Brown Onions – £0.24
Garlic – £0.30
Ginger – £0.18
Total Cost – £8.82 – This covers absolutely everything. All we assume you have in your
kitchen beforehand is SALT, PEPPER AND OLIVE OIL. Scroll to the bottom of the page to
find out which shops you can buy all of the ingredients from for under £10.
Method:
- Finely chop 2 onions and 3 cloves of garlic. Grate a big chunk of
ginger. Throw into a pan and let soften for 5 minutes over a medium
heat.
- Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric, 2 teaspoons of cumin, 2 teaspoons of
ground coriander seeds and 2 and a half teaspoons of garam masala.
Mix it all in.
- Break your cauliflower into little florets, and add that to the pan. Coat
the cauliflower in the spices. Add a bit of water from the chickpea tin
to loosen the curry.
- Finely chop 4 tomatoes and add these to the pan. Season everything
with salt and pepper, and then add 600g of chickpeas. Add a can of
coconut milk, and mix everything together. Add a grated red chilli.
- Allow the curry to putter away on a medium heat for 20 minutes, or
until it is nicely thickened.
- Add a large handful of chopped coriander at the end, and squeeze
over the juice of a lime. Enjoy!
www.mobkitchen.co.uk
www.nationalvegetarianweek.org
