a few weeks back on my monday phone dump i confessed my love for falafel. i have always been in search of the perfect falafel and i found it at the kebab shop. i crave their falafel doner but it is a little pricey and it doesn’t necessarily fit within my diet guidelines but every so often it is amazing. last week, kim, posted a pic on her facebook page of her baked falafel dinner and i was intrigued to make them myself. i found this recipe for the falafel and then made a simple greek yogurt cucumber dressing and paired it all with a greek salad. it was relatively quick to put together, meaning we ate before 6:30 and everyone was happy. well, besides payton who had a 102.4 temp but she sat with us chugging her blue gatorade. i love me a crispy fried falafel so the baked version wasn’t crispy enough for my taste but it was amazing nonetheless.
baked falafel & greek salad
falafel:
1 15 oz. can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
3 cloves garlic
2 TB parsley
2 TB flour
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
dressing:
1 container fage nonfant plain greek yogurt
1/2 seeded cucumber, diced
3 cloves garlic
pinch of salt
mint, optional
salad:
romaine
grape tomatoes
kalamata and green olives, sliced
feta cheese
red onion, thinly sliced
cucumber, thinly sliced
pita
here’s how:
preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. combine all ingredients and pulse until creamy.
scoop bean mixture into eight patties. placed on a greased cookie sheet and then spray the top of each falafel with cooking spray (i used pam olive oil spray).
bake for twenty minutes. i flipped mine after ten and then baked an additional five so they were crispy.
for the dressing:
combine all the dressing ingredients in a food processor and pulse until creamy. refrigerate until ready to use.
for the salad:
plate all salad ingredients, drizzle dressing and top with falafel patties. enjoy!
her new froggie princess jammies, freshly painted electric purple nails, a requested venti blue gatorade and her red cheeks. working her first big fever.
Here’s the one I use (I modified Sean’s recipe on allrecipes.com):
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 egg
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 (6 ounce) container plain yogurt
1/2 cucumber – peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty; don’t use a blender, as the consistency will be too thin. In a blender, process onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.
In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Form 10 balls and then flatten into patties. Brush with olive oil.
Bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes on each side.
In a small bowl combine yogurt, cucumber, dill, salt, and pepper. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Hope P feels better soon!!
thank you Kim! I will use this one next time!!
YUM! This sounds amazing. I must try this recipe asap!
Awwww, poor little thing!!
I have that same cup 😉
And her nails are just fab!