Falafel and Tzatziki in a Pita

I still have some chickpeas in my fridge from when I made that big batch of dried beans. They came in handy for my Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, and tonight I turned them into falafel - which is just ground up chickpeas with some spices and lemon juice, formed into patties, and fried or baked.

The falafel patties are super mega ultra tasty, and I put them in a whole wheat pita with a bunch of fresh veggies such as spinach, cucumber, red pepper, red onion, and cherry tomatoes.

The sauce that goes with falafel is called tzatziki - simply a mixture of greek yogurt, garlic, cucumber, lemon zest and juice, and salt. Very light and healthy yet creamy enough to taste really indulgent.

Falafel

2 cups rinsed chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)

2 garlic cloves, grated on microplane

1 handful parsley

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

freshly cracked black pepper

a few drops of hot sauce

lemon juice - a few teaspoons at a time

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor and keep adding more lemon juice until the mixture makes the right patty-making consistency.

Place patties on a baking sheet brushed with olive oil. Brush tops of patties with more olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, flipping after 10 minutes.

Tzatziki Sauce

1 cup plain greek yogurt

zest of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup seedless cucumber, grated on box grater

1 tsp salt

1 clove garlic, grated on microplane or pushed through garlic press

some chopped flat leaf parsley

Mix all together and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.

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