food to glow

Enjoyed with salad and a drizzle of tahini dressing, or stuffed in a wrap with pickles, spicy sauce, pickled cabbage plus a side of hot chips, falafels are the world’s second favourite way to eat chickpeas – after hummus, of course.

Those of us who love falafels probably have a distinct memory of our most favourite one. Or maybe that is just me.

The best one I can remember was early last summer. Our niece Madison was over from Florida and, capitalising on some fair weather, we were doing a bit of sightseeing and errand running in the studenty Southside district of Edinburgh.

Anyone who knows Edinburgh will know that this university area is dotted with cheap and cheerful cafes, restaurants, bars, walk-up windows, and even the odd converted police boxes selling crepes and coffee. Suddenly, absolutely starving, we were fairly desperate to get some food – and fast.

It was a bit windy and cool so hot food, hot fast-ish food, was what we craved. We walked into the tiny takeaway space on the side of a quiet Lebanese restaurant and were immediately assailed by wonderful spicy aromas, the smell of frying oil and the sight of a young man tending a revolving spit of lamb. We definitely weren’t up for a kebab but we spotted a grandfatherly gentleman hunched on an old wooden stool, digging gloved hands into a big plastic bowl of what I can only describe as “stuff”. He rolled large pinches of it in his hands then dropped the cricket ball-sized hunks into a deep fat fryer, where the beige, nondescript balls spun in the heat, turning deep golden and delectably crunchy. 

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What better fast food fix is there than a freshly made falafel wrap? 

The old chap was delightful, happy to find four starving customers in his otherwise empty shop. He wouldn’t take our simple toppings request of tahini sauce and salad as our true wish, instead piling the oversized bread wheels with chilli sauce, salty white cheese, homemade pickles and vinegar-soaked pink onions. He slapped each one in a hot press, from where it emerged minutes later, a golden pillowy bundle, ready for hungry bellies.

We ate these sitting on plastic bags, watching groups of white-clad men playing Saturday cricket, the glowering clouds daring us to stay longer. As we stretched out on the long grass, hearing the thwack of leather on willow and talking about everything and nothing, those crispy, earthy falafels could have been a skimpy sandwich or the finest morsel from a Fortnum & Mason hamper. What mattered was not what filled and sated our growling bellies but what brought us together under that leaden sky watching a game three out of four of us didn’t understand. I won’t get all soppy and sentimental (oops, too late), but you know what I mean.

These falafels are in no way like the perfect ones from an obvious expert, but they are good and – suitably for food to glow – baked. Fry them if you wish, but with the sesame seed coating you will get a mouthful of crunch before you hit the soft and flavour-packed innards. The two sauces are a must, too. And fries, if you got ’em.

What strong food memories do you hold? Is it about the food, or more about the situation? 

A selection of chickpea recipes from Food To Glow

Greens, Chickpeas and Ricotta-Feta Borek

Falafel Waffles with Honey-Harissa Chickpeas

Cookie Dough Brownie Bites (this isn’t a mistake!)

Korean Bibimbap with Gochujang Chickpeas

Loaded Cauliflower “Couscous” Salad with Roasted Turmeric Chickpeas

One-Pot Sweet Potato, Cauliflower and Chickpea Shawarma

Farinata Lasagne (farinata are chickpea pancakes – gluten-free)

And some chickpea recipes from others

Harissa Roasted Chickpeas and Aubergine with Sweet Potato Mash

Vegan Chickpea Calzone

Chickpea Flatbreads

Vegan Aubergine and Chickpea Penne

Barley Bowl with Spiced Aubergines, Chickpeas and Tomatoes

Chickpea Salad 

Avocado Hummus

** If you are reading this from the website Easy Low Cal Recipes, this is published without my permission – as are all other posts of mine on this site. **