grab your pita pockets, it's falafel time!

last week we had so much fun doing baking lessons: "cupcakes 101" with kelly!  so, when kelly mentioned that the next things she wanted to learn how to make were falafels, we jumped at that occasion.  kelly came over last night and we continued our educational series in the kitchen with cooking lessons: "falafel 101"

falafels are incredibly easy to make (and incredibly easy to devour)!  we stuffed our falafels into whole wheat pita pockets with lettuce, tomato, and homemade tzatziki sauce.  it was awesome!  seriously folks, maybe i should start my own show on the food network, haha!

falafel patties with tzatziki sauce
prep time: 20-25 minutes (plus 18-24 hours to soak dried chickpeas)
cooking time: 20 minutes
yields: approximately 12 large falafel patties

falafel ingredients:
2 cups dried chickpeas
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon flour
1 small onion (chopped)
6 garlic cloves (chopped)
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried cilantro
dash of salt and pepper
vegetable oil (for frying)

tzatziki sauce ingredients:

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 cups plain yogurt

1 cup sour cream

1 cucumber (peeled and diced)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons fresh dill

dash of salt and pepper

directions:
place the dried chickpeas in a large bowl and cover them with 6 cups of cold water.  soak the chickpeas for 18-24 hours.  the chickpeas will swell and absorb some of the water.  drain the remaining water and rinse the chickpeas.  note: you can use approximately 3 cans of chickpeas (drained) if you do not have the time to soak dried chickpeas.  put the chickpeas in a food processor and coarsely grind until no whole chickpeas remain.  add the baking powder, flour, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, parsley, and cilantro and process until the mixture is pureed.  season with salt and pepper to taste.  transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate the mixture while the oil is heating.

pour approximately 1/2 inch of oil in a frying pan and heat the oil.  roll the falafel mixture into golf ball size balls and press into patties.  place a few patties into the hot oil.  fry the patties until each is golden brown on both sides.  remove the falafel patties with a slotted spoon and pat with paper towels to remove excess oil.  serve in pita pockets with lettuce, diced tomato, and tzatziki sauce.

to make the tzatziki sauce: whisk together the olive oil and vinegar.  add the garlic powder, dill, and a dash of salt and pepper.  mix in the yogurt and the sour cream.  stir in the cucumber.  chill until ready to use.  (note: you can also make tzatziki sauce with mint and lemon.)

enjoy!

love, laurie