Falafel

Lately I've been making it a personal mission to eat more vegetarian meals. As you may or may not know (depending on how long you've been reading my humble blog), I was a vegetarian for 8 years and Nate was raised a vegetarian for 16 years. It's truly amazing how many options are available to vegetarians and vegans that weren't even thought of as recently as 5 years ago! I remember a time when going out to eat vegetarian meant a pathetic side salad or a plate of french fries. Anyway, back to my point, so I've been making it a goal to eat completely vegetarian 3 days a week.

Last night's meal was falafel patties and tzatziki sauce. For those of you not in the know, falafel are deep fried patties made of chickpeas, fresh parsley and lots of warm spices. They're exceptional with pita bread, tomato, slices of red onion and dollops of creamy and cool tzatziki sauce. It's obvious I loathe these things, right? They're just the worst.

Tzatziki Sauce

1 C plain Greek yogurt
1 small cucumber, grated
1 clove garlic, pressed or grated
1 Tsp dill (fresh or dried)
1 Tsp lemon juice
1/2 Tsp salt

Using the small holes of a box grater, grate the cucumber into a colander and press to remove as much moisture as possible.

In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients and enjoy!

Really, it's that simple. It's fresh, it's cool and it's utterly delicious. I wish I had doubled this recipe because I would've gladly eaten it by the spoonful.

Falafel Patties

 2 cans garbanzo beans, drained
1 shallot, chopped
3 garlic cloves
2 slices whole wheat bread
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 Tsp ground cumin
1 Tsp coriander
1/2 Tsp tumeric
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tsp lemon juice
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp buttermilk
1 C breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying
Whole wheat pita bread, for serving
Tzatziki sauce, for serving (or devouring with a spoon, no judgment)

Using a food processor, combine garbanzo beans, shallot, garlic cloves, bread, bell pepper, lemon juice and spices. The mixture should retain some texture.

In a small bowl, beat together eggs and buttermilk. On a plate, spread out breadcrumbs.

Portion falafel balls using an ice cream scoop. Coat in egg mixture and coat with breadcrumbs. Form into 3 oz patties.

In a deep skillet over medium heat, heat oil to 350. Fry patties for 3 minutes per side in the oil. Remove from oil and allow to cool on a wire rack lined with paper towel.

Once again, viola! Falafel and tzatziki are truly that simple to make! The patties were moist, flavorful and absolutely filling. The recipe yielded 11 3 oz patties. My goodness they were just incredible! I can't wait to eat my leftovers for lunch tomorrow.