Tzatziki tweaked from Mr. Wilkinson’s Vegetables, falafel tweaked from the regular fare.
So versatile is this classic pairing that you can eat it alongside eggs n’ arugula for brekky, tucked into a pita for lunch or served over salad for dinner.
Falafel is a traditional Middle Eastern food that usually comes deep-fried. Sure, the deep fryer gives that certain je-ne-sais-quoi quality unattainable by any other cooking method – but baking them will come close. And, enjoying your falafel trans fat-free will make them all the more enjoyable.
Ingredients
Tzatziki
½ – 1 container of Goat Greek Yogurt (~2-3% will do nicely)
½ a cucumber, grated
~¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
~¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 squeeze of lemon juice
fresh ground pepper & salt
Falafel
1 can chickpeas (or ~2 cups cooked chickpeas if preparing from dried beans!)
½ cup cooked yellow and/or brown lentils
½ small yellow onion, chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1/3 cup tahini
1 heaping Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 Tbsp olive oil (you might add more later)
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
¼ tsp cayenne
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp sea salt
Method
Tzatziki
1. Stir yogurt and cucumber together in a medium bowl.
2. Next fold in the rest of the ingredients (dill, parsley, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper).
Falafel
1. Prep your chickpeas (usually overnight) if you’re making from fresh beans.
2. Preheat oven to 400F.
3. Toss all prepared ingredients into a food processor and pulse until fairly smooth, well combined. This will take a few rounds of pulsing and scraping down the sides. As you go you might find the mixture too thick. If that’s the case try adding small amounts (~1 Tbsp) of water and/or olive oil to the mix.
4. Using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop, scoop out even rounds of the falafel mix and form onto a cookie sheet. Throw the falafel-laden baking sheet into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until your falafel bites are nice and crispy and browned.
