On friday night, travelling home from yoga class I had the funniest tube journey, which still makes me laugh when I think about it. Sitting there quietly in the midst of rush hour madness, I was flicking through my new cook book, The Green Kitchen, which i'd just been given as a belated birthday present by the lovely Jenny Box (Yoga & Feasts partner in crime). The book is based on the well known blog - Green Kitchen Stories (http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/) - which is full of tales from a beautiful vegetarian kitchen in Sweden. Sitting next to me on the tube was an Italian woman and sitting opposite us were her two Italian friends. They were all chatting away in Italian and I wasn't taking much notice until the woman beside me starting peering over my shoulder, making oohs and ahhs sounds, as I turned each page. She looked at me and smiled and in a broad Italian accent she said ''i'm Italian, we love food. This food looks great''. Next thing I knew she was relaying the contents of each page to her friends opposite and so began a fully fledged foodie discussion - italian style! Some recipes got an approving yes, while others a definite no, which then led onto discussions about dinner that evening, the kind of pasta they were planning to cook, which wine they might drink and so it went on! The volume of the discussion meant that everyone around us was involved, whether they liked it or not. But for the most part, I could see that people found the whole thing highly entertaining - it was absolutely brilliant. As I neared my tube stop, I said my goodbyes and as I looked around, I could see alot of hungry faces wondering what they too were going to eat for dinner that evening!
I wanted to share this story because it is such a simple reminder of how easily we connect over food. No matter the nationality, language or location, food is a never ending source of discussion. It was well and truly one of the funniest, most enjoyable tube rides home. So my chickpea and chestnut falafels are inspired by this event, as well as my new book, as they are adaptation of a recipe from the book. The combination of chickpea and chestnut works so well - i've now discovered - and this combined with a good kick of thyme makes for a set of flavours, which are soft and warming. Energetically speaking, chickpeas and chestnuts have an energy which moves downwards and outwards in the body, relaxing the lower organs, offering up a sense of comfort. They are earthy foods, so they feel nourishing and loving, just like getting a big hug! Chestnuts are different from other nuts in that they are low in fat and have a high starch content. They're also far less mucus forming than other nuts, so work well with a more cleansing diet, especially where an element of richness and strength is also required. They're a great source of folic acid, just like our friends the dark leafy greens and they're rich in fibre, as well iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc.
What's lovely about this recipe is that the falafels are baked, not fried, so they feel lighter and more energising compared with a deep fried version. I finished them off by rolling them in semi-ground pistachios, which added texture and a vibrant green colour. Once baked I ate them smothered in tahini and goats yoghurt dressing, along with a colourful salad of grated carrot, red cabbage, a little blanched kale and toasted sunflower seeds. Equally, you could put the falafel in a pitta bread or even wrap them in a cabbage leaf. Whatever you decide to do, they are sure to soothe and satisfy the senses! Enjoy!
I wanted to share this story because it is such a simple reminder of how easily we connect over food. No matter the nationality, language or location, food is a never ending source of discussion. It was well and truly one of the funniest, most enjoyable tube rides home. So my chickpea and chestnut falafels are inspired by this event, as well as my new book, as they are adaptation of a recipe from the book. The combination of chickpea and chestnut works so well - i've now discovered - and this combined with a good kick of thyme makes for a set of flavours, which are soft and warming. Energetically speaking, chickpeas and chestnuts have an energy which moves downwards and outwards in the body, relaxing the lower organs, offering up a sense of comfort. They are earthy foods, so they feel nourishing and loving, just like getting a big hug! Chestnuts are different from other nuts in that they are low in fat and have a high starch content. They're also far less mucus forming than other nuts, so work well with a more cleansing diet, especially where an element of richness and strength is also required. They're a great source of folic acid, just like our friends the dark leafy greens and they're rich in fibre, as well iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc.
What's lovely about this recipe is that the falafels are baked, not fried, so they feel lighter and more energising compared with a deep fried version. I finished them off by rolling them in semi-ground pistachios, which added texture and a vibrant green colour. Once baked I ate them smothered in tahini and goats yoghurt dressing, along with a colourful salad of grated carrot, red cabbage, a little blanched kale and toasted sunflower seeds. Equally, you could put the falafel in a pitta bread or even wrap them in a cabbage leaf. Whatever you decide to do, they are sure to soothe and satisfy the senses! Enjoy!
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Recipe (makes 12)
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 cup cooked chestnuts
1/4 cup chopped parsley
8 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1/2 of 1 red onion diced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp baking powder
1.5 tbsp olive oil
Method: Pre-heat the oven to 200c. Place all the ingredients in a blender and whizz until the mixture comes together and is almost smooth. You want to leave a little texture, as they taste better this way. Remove from the blender and form into 12 balls. Meanwhile, place the pistachios in the blender and whizz but stop before a powder forms. You need some texture here too! Finish by rolling the balls in the pistachio crumb, place on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, turning half way. Serve with tahini and yoghurt dressing.
Tahini Yoghurt Dressing
1/2 cup organic goats yoghurt
2 tbsp tahini
1/2 clove garlic
2 tbsp lemon juice
Sea salt to taste
1/4 cup water
Method: Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, or alternatively whisk by hand in a bowl.
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 cup cooked chestnuts
1/4 cup chopped parsley
8 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1/2 of 1 red onion diced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp baking powder
1.5 tbsp olive oil
Method: Pre-heat the oven to 200c. Place all the ingredients in a blender and whizz until the mixture comes together and is almost smooth. You want to leave a little texture, as they taste better this way. Remove from the blender and form into 12 balls. Meanwhile, place the pistachios in the blender and whizz but stop before a powder forms. You need some texture here too! Finish by rolling the balls in the pistachio crumb, place on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, turning half way. Serve with tahini and yoghurt dressing.
Tahini Yoghurt Dressing
1/2 cup organic goats yoghurt
2 tbsp tahini
1/2 clove garlic
2 tbsp lemon juice
Sea salt to taste
1/4 cup water
Method: Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, or alternatively whisk by hand in a bowl.
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