Middle Eastern food to go, made summery with peas and lemon

Pea & herb falafel with hummus & flatbread

Makes about 20
2 x 400g tins of chickpeas
500g frozen garden peas
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 large egg
1⁄2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
Handful of fresh herbs (we used oregano, basil and mint)
60g rye flour
Coconut oil, for greasing

1 Preheat oven to 200C/Fan 180C/ Gas 6. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, and place in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, cover the frozen peas in cold water to defrost, drain and add to the bowl. Zest and juice the lemon, and add to the bowl along with the rest of the ingredients, and season.
2 Mix thoroughly and use a hand blender to break down the chickpeas and peas into a smoother paste: only do this for a couple of mins so that the mixture keeps some of its texture. It should be reasonably gooey but, if it is too wet to roll, add a little more flour.
3 Lightly grease a baking tray with coconut oil and, using your hands, form ping pong-sized balls and place on the tray. You should be able to make about 20 from your mix – you may need a second baking tray.
4 Cook in the oven for 25 mins or until they start to lightly crisp at the edges. Leave to cool before using a spatula to remove them from the trays.
5 Serve on a wooden platter with thick slices of shop-bought flatbreads and a couple of different types of hummus.

Cook’s note: You can freeze these, so try making a double batch, as they make a great midweek meal with a big salad and hummus dip.

Turn to page 25 of August's The Simple Things for more of our riverside picnic menu, including Elderflower fizz, Hard-boiled eggs with celery salt, Chilli spiced apple sausage rolls, Roasted tomato & goats’ cheese tart, Layered salad jars, and Strawberry cheesecakes.

This makes a delicious light lunch or summer starter, and uses everything but the pod itself from the pea plant. (If you want to save your pea flowers to turn into more peas, omit them or use other edible flowers.) Savoury cheesecakes are a great alternative to quiches and tarts and, as this recipe uses oatcakes for the base, it is wheat-free, too.

Pea cheesecake

Serves 4–6 as a light lunch with salad, 8–10 as a starter
1 × 23cm spring-form tin, greased and base-lined

base tier

200g oatcakes
100g unsalted butter
parmesan crisps
20g Parmesan cheese, finely grated pea purée
100g butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
300g peas
filling
360g cream cheese
120ml double cream
4 eggs
zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
100g peas

decoration

handful of pea shoots, edible flowers (eg pea flowers, violas)

1 For base tier, put the oatcakes in a food bag and bash with a rolling pin until they are reduced to crumbs. Melt the butter, then combine with the crumbs in a bowl, mixing to coat. Press into the base of the tin in an even tier (a potato masher is the best tool here). Chill in the fridge for at least half an hour.

2 For the Parmesan crisps, preheat oven to 180C. Put 10 large pinches of grated cheese on a baking sheet, leaving space for them to spread. Place baking sheet in oven and, watching all the time, let the cheese melt into flat, slightly browned crisps. Remove from the oven and cool the crisps on the baking sheet.

3 For the pea purée, melt butter in a frying pan. Add garlic to the butter as it melts, but do not let it brown. Pour over the peas and blend to a rough purée.

4 For filling, whisk cream cheese, double cream, eggs and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add the pea purée, season, and whisk again until everything is incorporated. Stir in the whole peas. Pour filling over the base tier and bake for 35–40 mins until the cheesecake does not wobble when the tin is shaken, and the top is golden.

5 Turn the cheesecake out onto a plate, scatter over the pea shoots and flowers. Nestle the Parmesan crisps among them. Serve warm, with a peppery side salad.

Recipe from Grow Your Own Cake by Holly Farrell (Frances Lincoln) Photography Jason Ingram