It’s broad bean season and I never feel I do fresh broad beans justice but I’m trying to change that this year. If you get over the hassle of the double peeling they are a fantastic celebration of spring. This broad bean and chickpea fritters are similar to falafel but they don’t require all the pre-thinking with the overnight soaking of beans. The fresh broad beans also make a much lighter and more delicate fritter. I eat them as I would a falafel with flat bread and my favorite falafel fixings. For this simple Saturday dinner I served them chopped salad, flat bread and green tahini!

This green tahini sauce is one of the specialities of Kepos Street Kitchen and it is awesome!. Kepos Street is one of my favourite brunch/breakfast spots with their middle-eastern take on the cafe brekkie. They use this green tahini on their version eggs of Benedict (very, very good). It’s a lighter, more fragrant version of the traditional tahini sauce. It keeps well in the refrigerator for up to a week and it’s particularly good drizzled over Morrocan stews , as dip for crudites or with anything your creativity will take it.

*I didn’t have enough coriander to use the full two cups so my green tahini pictured is a little less green than usual, but it was still very good. This sauce is one to remember when you have an excess of coriander that you need to use up.

Broad bean and chickpea fritters

Adapted from SBS Food

• 1 X 400 gram tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoons of salt flakes
• 1 cup of broad beans, double peeled *
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of cumin
• 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
• 1/2 cup of parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup plain flour
• 1 large egg
• vegetable oil for shallow frying

1. Place chickpeas, cumin, chilli powder, salt, parsley in food processor and grind until smooth.
2. Add egg and broad beans to mix and process until broad beans are mixed. Do not over process you want the broad beans to still be a little chunky for texture.
3. Heat 2cm of vegetable oil in fry pan. Drop about 2 tablespoons (40 grams) of fritter mix from a spoon into the oil. The mixture is very soft so you will have to scoop it off the spoon with another spoon.
4. Fry on both sides (about 2 minutes each side) until golden brown. Sprinkle with a little extra salt. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in the oven until all fritters are cooked.

*To double peel broad beans, first peel broad beans from pods, then blanch beans in boiling water and refresh in iced water.  Peel off tough outer husk from broad beans. You can also use frozen broad beans for this recipe and just blanch and peel the beans.

Green tahini

Adapted from Falafel for Breakfast by Micheal Rantissi and Kirsten Frawley

• 90 grams (1/3 cup) of tahini
• 125 mls (1/2 cup) of lemon juice
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 cups of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt flakes

1. Process coriander with 100 mls of water until roughly blended. (Take care not to over blend as the coriander will go black)
2. Add tahini garlic and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Add salt flakes and stir through.
3. Green tahini will keep in a jar in the refrigerator for at least a week.