What I Ate Wednesday | Falafel Salad

25 September 2019


One of the things I love about living away at university is having freedom in the kitchen. With my own budget and only myself to feed, I have freedom in what I can buy and what I can make. And, I love to take advantage of it every day. My new found freedom and the added fact of how much I hate that student stereotype (which sadly wiped out the number of times I ate my favourite type dish, pasta *sad face*), I became motivated to try new things. 

So, how does a falafel salad equate to trying new things? Compared to the simple diet I had back home, a falafel salad is something I wouldn’t really have. I have been trying to introduce more vegetarian based meals into my diet and the occasional vegan one. I find they taste much better than normal meat meals. Plus, there is so much more you can do when meat is not involved.

When I made this salad, I wanted it to more than a bunch of dry leaves. I seasoned each part differently which really helped in adding flavour. The couscous is soft and delicate contrasting to the crispness of falafel and slight crunch in the fried peppers. It’s one of the nicest things I’ve ever made.


The couscous is mixed with Italian Style Seasoning (from Sainsbury's) and I added a little more water than usual to keep it moist. The peppers and courgettes where lightly fried and mixed with a paprika-based season mix. I love cooking Kale. It's such a versatile vegetable and I have a lot of fun making it differently. This time, I steamed it and mixed in some chopped garlic to give it a little taste. When it comes to cooking Kale a little tip is to massage it when you wash it. It softens the leaves up and gives it some more taste.

There’s a scene in this film called Ramen Girl where the chef serves up ramen and talks about placing the ingredients in certain places to create harmony in the dish.  Ever since then, I’ve tried to recreate a sense of harmony in my dishes. It sounds a little silly but when everything is placed just so it tastes nicer and it somehow cleanses your mind and palette before eating. I could be on some weird voodoo zen thing but try creating a sense of harmony when you serve up food.

Love, Aoife xo