Chickpea balls with yogurt and mint dip

(another day in good ol' Yorkshire)

Breakfast: A massive tub of greek yogurt

Lunch: A fantastic hummus and sundried tomato sandwich with a humongous pot of English Breakfast tea at the wonderful Hairy Fig in York - "purveyors of fine fodder"

Dinner: Chickpea balls with yogurt and mint dip, potatoes and other veggies, followed by home-made rice pudding - thanks Mum! (Truth be told, I did follow the family tradition of having 2 different desserts. Ahem.)

So you go out for the day and you tell your mum that you'll definitely be back for the big family goodbye meal she's got planned. You also tell her you'll sort out some veggie option for yourself.

You go off and have a fantastic day with your mate Sarah in York, find a great little cafe, do some shopping and turn up 10 minutes before dinner is served, having forgotten all about your promise. The household is not usually filled with vegetarian-friendly food stuffs but you've got to make something. What do you do?

Well, you come up with the recipe for these chickpea balls on the spot. They're not quite falafel as the consistency is much different and they don't contain garlic or flour. They're also a bit more plain but are ridiculously easy and quick to make.

You'll need:
(Feeds 2)

1 tin chickpeas, cooked
3 spring onions, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 slices brown bread, in crumbs
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
handful fresh coriander, chopped
oil

Method:

Blend everything together and shape into balls
Shallow fry in a pan with a bit of oil
Turn to ensure even cooking on all sides and throughout. This takes 10-15 minutes.
Serve with yogurt and mint dip

These also go really well with a tomato and red wine sauce with roasted vegetable couscous on the side. I made these to say thanks to the lovely Jo, Sam and David who put me up in Streatham and they were pretty delightful....as were the chickpea balls (ha!).

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