The perfect vegetarian dish for casual summer lunches, or great in the lunch box for those going back to work.

Recipe and Styling Natalie Homan | Photograph Brendan Homan

Falafel scotch eggs with green goddess sauce
makes 6

2 cups dried chickpeas
6 large eggs
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 bunch parsley, roughly chopped
1 bunch mint, roughly chopped
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
½ cup rice flour
1 cup sesame seeds
vegetable oil, for frying

for green goddess
1 cup yoghurt
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 avocado
1 shallot, finely chopped
¼ cup chopped coriander
sea salt

Place dried chickpeas in a bowl and cover with water, then soak overnight. The next day, bring a medium-sized saucepan of water to the boil. Meanwhile, prick the base of the eggs with a large needle or skewer – this allows the shell to be removed with ease. Prepare an ice bath by pouring 2L of water into a large bowl and adding a tray of ice cubes. Boil the eggs for six minutes and plunge into the ice bath to arrest the cooking process. Place eggs in the refrigerator while preparing the falafel mix.

Drain the chickpeas and place in the bowl of a food processor with the celery, onion, garlic, herbs, spices, baking powder and rice flour. Pulse until a rough paste forms, transfer into a container and allow to chill for half an hour. 

Remove cooked eggs and falafel mix from the refrigerator. Peel the eggs and gently enclose with the falafel mix, forming an egg shape. The falafel layer will be about 1cm thick. Place scotch eggs on a tray and refrigerate for half an hour to firm up (or allow to set overnight). Meanwhile, make the green goddess by placing all the ingredients in a tall canister and blending until smooth with a hand blender. 

Heat a deep fryer to 160C. Roll the scotch eggs in the sesame seeds and cook in batches for 10 minutes. Serve scotch eggs either warm or at room temperature with green goddess.

This recipe first appeared in the October 2019 issue of SALIFE magazine.