🧆 FALAFEL + KASHKE BADEMJAN 🍆

Welcome back to Flavours of the World Cup, the series where I’m cooking my way through the tournament - one game at a time ⚽️

One of the best things about this series has been discovering dishes that deserve far more attention outside their home countries. Of course, we all know and love falafels - but I found out that I LOVE Kashke Bademjan. And I am sure you will too …

Falafel is one of Egypt’s most famous street foods. Crispy on the outside, fluffy in the middle and usually served with salads, pickles and sauces. Egyptian falafels are famous for their vibrant green interior due to the amount of fresh herbs!

For Iran, I took inspiration from Kashke Bademjan, a traditional Persian aubergine dish made with slow-cooked eggplant, onions and garlic. It’s rich, smoky and incredibly tasty.

To bring the two together, I served crispy falafels on a bed of Kashke Bademjan before topping everything with fresh herbs, pomegranate seeds + tahini.

The result felt like the sort of sharing dish I’d happily eat all summer.

For the Kashke Bademjan:

• 2 aubergines

• 2 tbsp plain yoghurt (I use soy)

• Small handful fresh parsley, leaves finely chopped

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• Extra virgin olive oil, salt + pepper

To serve:

• Falafels (I made mine, but you can buy your own or follow one of my previous recipes!)

• Small handful fresh herbs (I used mint + parsley)

• Small handful pomegranate seeds

• Tahini

1. Pre-heat the bbq, grill or oven (grill setting). Prick a few holes in the aubergines, then roast whole for around 20-30 minutes until the skin is blackened + the flesh soft. Pop in a bowl, cover with a tight-fitting plate + leave to steam / cool for 10 minutes. Once cool, peel the skins + chop up the flesh.

2. Add the aubergine to a mixing bowl with the yoghurt, garlic, parsley + a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste with salt + pepper.

3. Spread the dip onto a serving platter, then top with your falafel. Finish with herbs, pomegranate seeds + tahini. Enjoy with warm pitta or flatbreads!

🇪🇬 Egypt have won the Africa Cup of Nations a record seven times and are one of Africa’s most successful football nations.

🇮🇷 Iran are one of Asia’s strongest teams and have qualified for the World Cup on six previous occasions.

For my score prediction, dish rating + the whole recipe video, head over to my socials.

That’s now the end of the group stage recipes! From here on, the knock out results will decide what gets cooked next …

Let me know your favourite dish so far, and what you’d like to see next.

Alfie x