Falafel Pitas with Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing

Coming to you from Pullman

 

I have been exploring some new food options and I stumbled upon falafels!  A fun new word (except I'm having trouble getting it mixed up with the word frittata) and pretty good tasting as well.  I've never had one before so I don't really know if I'm making it right, but I thought it was pretty good.  I got the recipe off my recipes.  I'm really into garbanzo beans right now so I would probably like anything made with them. 

 

Falafel

•  1/4 cup mined red onion
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• can of garbanzo beans
• 1 slice of whole wheat bread torn into pieces
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white

So, I know it's weird that it asks for an egg and an egg white, but might I suggest making hollandaise sauce?...that calls for an egg yolk and then you will have an extra egg white laying around.  I coincidentally had just made hollandaise sauce and saved the egg white in the refrigerator wondering what I was going to do with it - well thinking that I would eat it with toast, but that it was a little silly to save.  Then, 30 minutes later I go to make falafel and BAM! - It just worked out so perfectly.  Anyway, you put this all in a food processor and then fry in olive oil.  I just used cooking spray so it didn't cook through correctly (I think), but it was good enough.  Then I just popped it in a pita with some lettuce and cucumber-yogurt dressing.

 



 Cucumber-yogurt dressing

• 3/4 cup plain fat free Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup diced seedless cucumber
• 1/8 cup minced red onion
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Mix all this together in a food processor and that's it.  This is the recipe halved and it still makes quite a bit for one person.  I'm sure I'll find a way to use it all up.  The 3/4 yogurt is a little more than it called for (proportionally) because it didn't look thick enough so I added more...it didn't help much, but really the texture is good and it could have been because I put the watery insides of the cucumber in (I don't have time to cut that out!).  Anyway, happy to have discovered this food and I think it's pretty healthy.

-Michelle