Spicy Falafel Burgers with Açai-Tahini Sauce

I prefer to use dried chickpeas, but you can save soaking and cooking time by using tinned or pre-cooked chickpeas.

Preparation and cooking time (dried chickpeas): 1 hour 20 minutes, plus soaking | Calories per portion: 366

Serves 4

150g/5½oz/scant 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked for at least 8 hours, or 300g/10½oz/1½ cups tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 small onion, quartered

2 garlic cloves

¼ red pepper, chopped

1 small red chilli pepper, chopped

1 small handful of parsley leaves

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp ground cardamom

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp black pepper

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

olive oil, for shallow-frying

For the açai-tahini sauce

2 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp powdered açai berries

½ tsp sea salt

To serve

4 sesame buns, sliced in half

4 lettuce leaves

2 tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 small onion, thinly sliced

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and put into a saucepan. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil over a high heat and boil for 10 minutes. Turn down the heat and leave to simmer for a further 45 minutes. Drain and leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the açai-tahini sauce by combining the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, açai powder and salt with enough water to make a smooth, creamy paste.

Combine all the remaining falafel ingredients (except the oil) with about 55ml/ 1¾fl oz/scant ¼ cup water in a blender or food processor and grind to a thick paste. Wet your hands and roll little handfuls of the mixture into 8 small balls. Flatten and shape into round patties and shallow-fry over a medium-high heat until golden.

Serve hot in burger buns with lettuce, tomato, onion and the açai-tahini sauce.

NUTRITION PROFILE (per portion)

17% protein, 30% fat, 47% carbohydrate, 6% fibre

VITAMINS AND MINERALS (percentage of RDA)

Vitamin A 33%, E 17%, C 58%, B1 41%, B2 14%, B3 18%, B5 17%, B6 33%, folate 61%, biotin 5%, potassium 38%, calcium 30%, magnesium 31%, iron 45%, zinc 23%, copper 60%, manganese 75%, selenium 10%

HEALTH BENEFITS

Nourishing | good source of unsaturated fat | an energy booster and blood sugar stabilizer | strengthens muscles, bones, skin, nails and hair