Crispy Falafel with Cumin Seed Apple and Beetroot Yogurt Slaw

Lunchtimes for me are a bit troublesome and I’m wondering if anybody else has the same problem?  I am starting to dread it as I am out of ideas!  The average packet of sliced bread does nothing for me, so unless I buy or make a fresh loaf, a sandwich is out of the question. I want my lunch to be healthy as I am convinced that my mid afternoon sugar craving is made worse by bad decisions at lunch time. It also has to get me through till dinner and give me the energy I need to do the 101 chores on my list which are to be done before.  Oh, and I don’t really have much time to prepare anything.

Not asking for much am I???

But now that 2 out of my 3 little ones are back at school and I’m feeling a bit more human, I have decided to try and fall back in love with lunch.  This will mostly require effort and organisation from me, but I’m hoping it will be worth it.

The first lunch I have decided to try is a recipe from the lovely Total yogurt website.  You may remember that I went along to to an event with Total at the start of the summer.  I was really impressed with the versatility of what is essentially a pot of plain yogurt and as part of a new ‘online treasure hunt’ competition that Total are running, I was asked if I would like to choose a recipe to make and then review on my blog.  Perfect timing for my lunchtime quest, and the treasure hunt is definitely worth taking a look at as there is £800 worth of kitchen kit to win.

Total have been very busy and have filled up their website with 1,000 new recipes and usage suggestions so there was a lot to choose from.  In the end it was the, ‘crispy falafel with cumin seed apple and beetroot yogurt slaw‘ that caught my eye.  I love falafel, but have never made them before.  This challenge was going to interesting if nothing else.

Here is what I thought:

Cost:

From Ocado the cost was £12.86. Divided by 4 people it is £3.21 per person.  This does seem quite expensive, but I think that you would have enough left over to make again without having to buy anything other than another flatbread to serve with it.   On the basis that I would make this twice I actually think this recipe is good value.  You could even save a bit more by getting pitta bread for example rather than the more expensive garlic flat bread that I chose.

Score: 8/10

Time required to make:

In total this recipe took me about an hour to prep, cook and tidy up afterwards.  I was doing a few other things around the kitchen during that time too like feeding my son his lunch, so it did not feel like too much of my day had been eaten into. The washing up was a bit depressing with all the food processor bits, but once the big bits were done there was not much else left in the bowl.

Score: 7/10

Skill level needed:

I don’t think there is too much skill needed for this recipe but you need a food processor otherwise it is going to be very difficult to get the falafel mix to the right consistency.  I’m not even sure I did mine correctly as although the falafel balls rolled up really well, they became very delicate whilst cooking and I had to be really careful with them as I turned them over in the frying pan.  I used my food processor to cut up the beetroot and apple for the slaw too.

Score: 7/10

Recipe instructions:

I like the recipe as it was clear, and there were not too many ingredients or steps to think about.  There is also a helpful video featuring Paul Merrett.

Score: 8/10

Taste:

I thought this dish was delicious.  The beetroot and apple slaw complimented the falafels perfectly.  Cooling and crunchy with the cumin spice adding a little something special.  The falafels were pretty spicy, and although I like my food to be hot and spicy, I think that it could possibly be too much for some.  I only added 2 of the suggested 4 chillies so I would recommend one chilli only for anyone who likes their food on the milder side.

Score: 8/10

Overall

I would say that making this for my lunch has been definitely worth it.  I enjoyed having something different and am looking forward to having the leftovers for my lunch again tomorrow when it will take no time at all to prepare!  I would recommend the recipe and have booked marked it for myself to make again.

Think I might try a funky salad for my next lunch time challenge.  I’ll let you know how I get on.

Thank you to Total for sending me the ingredients for my chosen recipe.

Tagged 1000 ways with Total, beetroot and apple yogurt slaw, falafel, lunch ideas, recipe review, Total Greek, Total online treasure hunt