Falafel Burger in Homemade Pitta, Tabbouleh & Baba Ghanoush Dip

A super healthy vegetarian dish that can be served as a flatbread burger or a salad, hot or cold at any time of the day. This falafel burger is coated in semolina for the extra crunch and it goes amazingly well with citrusy Tabbouleh salad, especially when topped with delicious Aubergine dip - Baba Ghanoush. If you feel lazy or have no time you can buy Pitta bread in the supermarket but the taste of homebaked one is the best. Remember that if you organise your time, everything is quicker to do.

Falafel Burger Feast

Ingredients for 8 Falafel Burgers:

• 400g (14oz) of cooked chickpeas

• 1 small red onion thinly sliced

• a handful of chopped parsley

• 1tsp of cumin

• 1tsp of ground coriander

• 1tsp mild chilli powder

• 1tbsp tomato puree

• 2tbsp of plain flour

• 1tsp of salt

• 50g (1.9oz) of semolina for coating

• oil for pan-frying

Ingredients for Tabbouleh Salad:

• 150g (5.3oz) of crushed bulgur wheat

• 1 medium-sized cucumber (350g) with skin, seeds removed and small dice

• 200g (7oz) of cherry tomato, small dice

• half bunch of parsley no stems, finely chopped

• a handful of mint, finely chopped

• bunch of scallions, finely sliced

• juice and zest of 1 lemon

• 2 garlic cloves minced

• 3tbsp of olive oil

• 1tsp of salt

Ingredients for 8 Pittas:

• 240ml (0.25 quarts) of lukewarm water

• 20g (0.7oz) of fresh bakers yeast or 2tsp of dry

• 340g (12oz) of plain flour

• 1 tsp of salt

• 1tsp of sugar

• 1tbsp of olive oil

Ingredients for Baba Ganoush Dip:

• 2 medium eggplants cut in half

• 1 tbsp of tahini

• 1tbsp lemon juice

• 1tbsp of yoghurt

• 1 garlic clove minced

• 0,5tsp of salt

• 1tbsp olive oil

Method for Baba Ganoush Dip:

This dip needs to be chilled before the final seasoning happens so it will be best to prepare it first.

1. Begin by brushing the eggplants with some olive oil on the inside and roasting them in the 200C (392F) oven for around 30 minutes, alternatively, they can be poked to prevent exploding and grilled as a whole.

2. Once they are ready allow them to cool for few minutes and scrape the inside into a sieve, discard the skin. After a few more minutes all the excess liquid should drip and you can proceed further.

3. Mash the pulp and mix in tahini, lemon juice, minced garlic, yoghurt and salt, allow to chill for at least an hour and adjust the seasoning.

4. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil at the top, sprinkle of black pepper or cayenne.

Method for Pitta Bread:

To bake Pittas I use bakers stone but this can be done on the oven tray as well. It is a good idea to heat the tray surface using the grill setting for a few minutes as we mainly use heat from the bottom to bake the flatbreads.

1. Mix the yeast with lukewarm water and leave it for 5-15 minutes (this helps the yeast to wake up and get ready for action)

2. Add remaining ingredients and bring the dough together, kneed for 5-10 minutes until flexible ball is achieved. Pour a little bit of olive oil on its surface and cover with cling film.

3. Place in the warmest spot in your house and allow to double in size (approximately 1hour) If the environment is cold you can help out the process by warming up the bowl with some hot water.

4. Once almost ready, preheat the oven to 200C (392F) then divide the dough into 8 equal parts, roll them flat with help of some flour and place them on the heated tray/stone. Bake for 10 minutes then cool on the rack ready for later.

Method for Tabbouleh Salad:

1. Cook the crushed bulgur wheat as instructed on the packet, you can add a little salt to the water.

2. When ready allow cooling in the sieve before mixing with other ingredients (cooling while hot will help to make it dry opposite to water rinse cooling).

3. Mix with other ingredients and refrigerate.

Method for Falafel Burgers:

1. Mash the chickpeas and mix with other ingredients, divide into 8 balls and form into patties then coat them in semolina.

2. Pan-fry on each side on medium heat with some oil and serve while hot with other elements, enjoy!

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5. You can also try my delicious recipe for Chicken Gyros Kebab