with Yogurt and Tomato Sauce
I just love this dish. I could eat it every week and I probably do eat it too often, but there you go! It’s just got so much contrast of flavour and texture – my favourite things. Crunchy toasted pitta pieces, saffron and chilli-infused tomato sauce, cooling yogurt, tangy sumac…and we haven’t discussed the pine nuts, coriander and falafels yet!
Serves 2 hungry, 3 sharing or 4 very polite people
8 torpedo falafels (page 272)
1 small onion, chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin rapeseed oil
1 clove of garlic, finely sliced
1 tsp chilli flakes (or more if you prefer)
400g (15oz) tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tsp sea salt
pinch of sugar
pinch of saffron
500ml (2 cups) vegetable oil for frying
4 small pitta breads
2 tsp sumac
300g (1 cup) coconut milk yogurt
handful of toasted pine nuts
* Pre-make the falafels and keep chilled in the fridge until 10–15 minutes before you’re ready to fry.
Make the tomato sauce. Fry the onion in the oil until soft and translucent. Add the finely sliced garlic and chilli flakes. Stir through for a minute on a medium heat before adding the tomatoes, sea salt and sugar. At this stage add a little water (about a quarter of the tomato tin – swirled around so you get all the juice out) and add the pinch of saffron. Cook for 10–15 minutes on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down and formed a rich sauce with a slight golden hew around the edges from the saffron. Turn the heat right down and begin assembling the dish – keeping an eye on the sauce.
Heat the oil in a wok or shallow fryer to approximately 170°C (340°F) or until a piece of bread dropped in sizzles on the top. Carefully fry the falafel in batches of two for 2–3 minutes each – placing them on kitchen paper to dry when done. Keep in a warm oven while you fry the remaining batches.
Assemble the dish – toast the pittas and cut them through so each pitta forms two thin pittas. Toast on a low heat if they are still soft – you want them crisp. Break them up and layer them on a sharing plate and sprinkle with 1 tsp of sumac. Pour the hot tomato sauce over them and then evenly drizzle over two-thirds of the yogurt. Place the hot falafel koftas on top like spokes in a wheel and drizzle the remaining yogurt over the dish. Sprinkle another tsp of sumac followed by the pine nuts and a little coriander. Serve immediately – it needs no accompaniment other than perhaps a cold beer.