Falafel

I could eat falafel every day.

Today at Publix Shaun and I got four cans of chickpeas — two for falafel and two for hummus. We had “fried hummus balls” for dinner, and I made hummus afterwards for later in the week. Falafel is delicious, nutritious and incredibly cheap. According to Wikipedia, the chickpea is a good source of protein and dietary fiber and low in fat. They are also funny looking.

Here’s the recipe we use for falafel, which we usually eat in wheat pita with cucumbers and tomatoes. I don’t know if it ends up being completely authentic, but it sure is tasty.

Falafel With Cilantro Yogurt In Pita Bread

Bon Appétit via Epicurious

1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup chopped onion
5 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
3 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cumin¹
1 large egg
Olive oil
4 warm pita breads, top third cut off
Sliced tomatoes
Crisp lettuce leaves²

Whisk yogurt, 1/2 cup cilantro, 1/4 cup onion, 1 garlic clove, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne in medium bowl to blend; season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Blend garbanzo beans, 3 tablespoons flour, cumin, remaining 1/2 cup cilantro, 4 garlic cloves and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne in processor until almost smooth. Add egg and remaining 3/4 cup onion and blend, using on/off turns, until onion is finely chopped. Transfer mixture to bowl; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Shape mixture into four 1/2-inch-thick patties³. Turn patties in remaining 1/2 cup flour⁴ to coat on both sides.

Pour enough oil into heavy large skillet to coat bottom; heat over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook until crisp and golden, about 8 minutes per side. Open pita breads; slide 1 patty, sliced tomato and lettuce into each. Spoon in some yogurt mixture.

¹Lately we’ve also added one teaspoon-ish of smoked paprika.
²As I mentioned, we usually do tomatoes and cucumbers.
³Feel free to go with the traditional balls versus patties.
⁴Somewhere in the comments someone suggested to roll the balls in cornmeal instead of flour. This is good.