Baked Felafel and Carrot + Raisin Salad

This dish came as a delightful surprise. The felafel's were inspired by this recipe by Green Kitchen Stories, but were modified due to lack of pistachios. I knew I didn't have any pistachio's, that wasn't the surprise. The surprising treat was the pairing with this seemingly simple salad of grated carrot and raisins. It was initially done out of pure laziness and the simplicity of grating a carrot was just the right amount of effort I was willing to expend. But, oh boy! The sweetness of the carrots and raisins added such a refreshing boost to the baked felafel and combined with the mint dressing everything on the plate just got along swimmingly!

Serves 2
(with a few left over for lunch)

You'll need

For the felafel - 1 tin of chickpeas, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 10 mint leaves, same amount of parsley, small handful of walnuts, small handful of almonds,  1 clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp of cumin, s + p. 

Mint dressing - 7 mint leaves, 5 tbsp of natural yoghurt, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp cumin, s + p.

Carrot and raisin salad - 2 carrots, 1/4 cup of raisins, tsp lemon juice, wholegrain mustard, s + p.

To make the felafels. 

Preheat oven to 190.

Put almonds in a food processor and smash about for about 10-20 seconds until they're small and chunky.

Set aside in a bowl. 

Add all the other felafel ingredients to processor for about 30 seconds until well combined. 

Roll mixture into little balls with slightly wet hands. 

Roll each ball in the almond bits. 

Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 15 minutes, turning at least once. 

Grate carrot and toss with raisins, lemon juice, mustard, s + p.

Drizzle felafel's with mint dressing and shake on the almond bits that fall off during baking onto the carrots for added crunch!