Falafel and Tzaziki Sauce

I gotta say I am a big fan of foreign foods. It doesn't matter what country it comes from. usually the stranger it is, the more I like it! In 2007 my hubby Andy and I visited my sister in Turkey and that started my love for Mediterranean and middle eastern style foods. Some of these recipes may seem somewhat difficult or intimidating, but I promise you they aren't! Give em a try!

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup chopped onion
•  2-(15 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
•  2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•  2 Tbs whole wheat flour
•  2 egg, beaten
• 2-4 teaspoons olive oil

Directions

1. Wrap chopped onion in cheese cloth or paper towel and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Set aside. Place garbanzo beans, parsley, garlic, cumin, salt, and baking soda in a food processor. Process until the mixture is coarsely pureed. Kind of like small pebbles or large grains of sand. Mix garbanzo bean mixture and onion together in a bowl. Stir in the flour and egg. Shape mixture into large patties (makes about 8) and  put on a cookie sheet. let stand for 15 minutes.
2. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the patties in the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side.
4. Transfer onto the cookie sheet and bake until heated through, about 10 minutes.                                    

Serve with:

Tzaziki Sauce

Ingredients

• 16 oz plain Greek yogurt
•  4 cucumbers - peeled,(2 finely chopped and 2 cut up to fit in food processor)
• 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill (could use 1/2 Tbs dried)
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled

Directions

1. In a food processor or blender, combine yogurt, 2 of the cucumbers, lemon juice(squeeze lemons cut side up so the seeds don't fall into your sauce), salt, pepper, dill and garlic. Process until well-combined. Add in the other 2 finely chopped cucumbers. Transfer to a separate dish, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour for best flavor. 

I haven't yet attempted to make my own Pita, so I buy whole wheat pita bread and serve it like this:

Put 2 falafel patties in a whole, or 1 patty in a half of a pita. Put lettuce, tomato, cucumber, feta cheese and tzaziki sauce in over the patties in the pita....mmmmmm

I know there is no meat in this meal, BUT there is a load of protein in the Garbanzo beans, so there is no worries there. AND you kinda hit everything but the fruit category with this as well, so for a complete meal all ya need is a fruit!