falafel burger with portobello mushroom bun, hummus and sweet potato wedges

I've been craving some kind of badness alllll week but I managed to refrain (yay)! The temptation to grab a takeaway for this evening's dinner was high but something managed to stop me, maybe the thought of having to fit into summer clothes in two weeks, hmm.. 

Falafel has been my go-to takeaway lately, I just absolutely adore it! Falafel-y, hummus-y goodness, the best! SO I decided I would try to recreate this dish at home tonight, fakeaway stylee. These burgers were surprisingly easy to make so I'll definitely revisit soon for weekday dinners. Initially I had planned to try to keep this as healthy as possible by only baking, however once I started working with the mixture I realised they would probably need fried on each side for a few mins - this stopped them disintegrating! I used 1 tbsp of unrefined coconut oil for shallow frying the burgers - no guilt required.

This recipe yields 2 large burgers and 2 small falafel balls (these didn't even make it to our plates..). 

Ingredients - Falafel burgers 

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained
• Half a red onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• A handful of flat parsley sprigs (about half a bunch)
• A handful of coriander springs (about half a bunch)
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp unrefined coconut oil
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp coriander
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 2 tbsp buckwheat flour
• 2 portobello mushrooms
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salad for serving - I used lettuce, tomato and cucumber

Ingredients - Hummus

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 4 tbsp water
• 1 tsp cumin
• Pinch of smoked paprika

Ingredients - Sweet potato wedges

• 3 sweet potatoes, cut into wedges
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp paprika

Method

First we'll start by making the falafel burger 'dough'. Add the garlic, fresh herbs and onions to your chopper/food processor - pulse until chopped. Add in the chickpeas, lemon juice, spices and tahini - pulse until the chickpeas are well mixed in but still slightly chunky. Remove mixture from chopper and place in a bowl. Add buckwheat flour and stir well. Take a handful of dough and form into the shape of a burger, continue until you have used up all of the dough.

Once you have formed the burgers, set aside for a moment. Pre-heat oven to 180°. Add the sweet potato wedges to a heat resistant dish and pour over olive oil. Make sure the wedges are well coated then place in the oven - we will bake these for 40 minutes. 

Heat the coconut oil in a pan on med-high heat then add the falafel burgers. Fry on each side for about 3-4 minutes - until golden brown. Once golden, carefully (they're very soft!) remove the burgers from the pan and place on a baking sheet. Place baking sheet in the oven - we will bake these for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. 

While the falafel burgers and wedges are baking we'll make our hummus. Add chickpeas, lemon, tahini, garlic, olive oil, water and cumin to your chopper/food processor and pulse well until you reach a smooth consistency. Sprinkle some paprika on top and set aside. 

We will prepare our mushroom buns when there's about 15 minutes cooking time left. Take the mushrooms and remove stems. Brush a little oil on both sides then place in the oven (gills side up) turning over after about ten minutes. Let the mushrooms bake for another 5 minutes then remove - you'll need to dab these with a clean cloth to remove some of the cooking juices. 

Once everything is cooked assemble the burgers with mushroom 'buns', salad and hummus. Serve with sweet potato wedges and your choice of hot sauce (I recommend CHOLULA - so good!)