1. SOAK CHICKPEAS

Soak the dried chickpeas in a bowl of water overnight. Do not use canned chickpeas or boil your dried chickpeas to save time- the falafels wont hold their shape this way as they will have lost their natural starches.

2. BLEND

Roughly chop the coriander, parsley and peppers. Slice the red onion, spring onions, lettuce, tomatoes and garlic.

Add the chickpeas, coriander, parsley, garlic, red onion, plain flour, mealworms, harissa paste and allspice into a food processor. Season generously with salt and pepper and squeeze the juice of one lemon. Blitz until chickpeas are well broken down but not smooth. You don’t want the mixture to become too pasty so slightly grainy is good. 

3. FRY DEM PATTIES

Use your hands to divide and shape it into 8 circular patties about 1.5cm thick (or balls if you prefer). We used patties as they give the falafels a bigger surface area, allowing them to shallow fry more easily and fit snugly inside the pita! Pour olive oil into the frying pan so that its about 1cm deep and add the falafels, turning when golden and crisp.

4. SERVE

Serve the falafels alongside some toasted pittas and your favourite falafel veg. We used sliced peppers, tomatoes, little gem lettuce, spring onions all topped with a dollop of tzatziki.

Lush.