I like falafel.  It just so happened that I had soaked and cooked a couple pounds of garbanzo beans to make the multi bean salad and hummus, and had more left.  I also have plenty of tahini (used to make hummus, among other things), so what’s a girl to do?

Make a Falafel Pita with Salad Mix Sprouts & Tahini Sauce, of course

Let me say, I don’t claim a lot of authenticity here. I just know what are the typical flavor profiles and I go from there. I also like to form them into flat patties instead of small balls, which is the traditional shape. I often buy my falafel mix in the bulk section of my grocery, but I had the softened cooked beans, so why not. I don’t think falafel usually needs cooked beans, just soaked until soft, but this worked.

So this is a little colorless. Make it more exciting with some tomatoes or roasted red peppers! But I like the basic flavors =)

1 C. cooked Chickpeas
½ C. fresh Parsley. Stems removed
Small handful Cilantro, stems removed
½ small-medium Onion, rough chopped
4 cloves Garlic, peeled
Salt to Taste
½ T. each Pepper, Cumin, Coriander
Cayenne Pepper, to taste, optional
Pinch of Cardamom, optional
Oil, for Frying
¼ tsp. Baking Powder
1 T. Sesame Seeds
Flour, optional
Egg, optional

Process the herbs in food processor until finely chopped. Add onions and pulse until well chopped. Add chickpeas, garlic and spices. Run for 30 seconds, scrape down sides and repeat until all is well combine and the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a container with a lid, cover tightly and refrigerate an hour to overnight. When ready to fry, heat your oil to 350 in a heavy bottomed skillet. I do about ½ – ¾ inch in cast iron. I think if you are doing thicker ball shapes, you might need a deeper oil. Using wet hands, form falafel into oval patties, at most about ½ inch thick – they should be a good size for your pita, to fit with a little room for the toppings, but not so small you don’t get falafel in most bites. If your falafel “dough” doesn’t come together well you can add up to a tablespoon of flour (if it’s too wet) or a lightly beaten egg (if it’s too dry) so the patty will hold its shape. Even without the additions, when its right, the patties will be delicate. If you can shape them and move them into the oil, they will tighten up as they cook. Carefully place your patty in the hot oil. Cook until a deep golden brown on the outside, flipping once. This takes mine about 3 minutes per side. The center should be cooked all the way through, so check your first patty and adjust heat up or down to get that nice brown without burning, and still cooked through. (You can bake these on a lined cookie sheet at 350 for 15-20 minutes, but they don’t have the same yum crunch). Transfer your cooked patties to a plate lined with paper towels or brown paper grocery bags to drain.

For Sandwich:

Pita Bread, cut in half
Sprouts (I used my French Garden Mix)
Tahini Sauce (recipe below) or Hummus
Optional: sliced Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Arugula, Roasted Red Peppers, Sour Cream

Stuff your falafel, sauce and sprouts into the half pita.  Add any extras, such as additional veggies or a dollop of sour cream and yum out.

Tahini Sauce

½ C. tahini paste
2-3 T. plus more, if necessary, fresh lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, minced
¼ – ½ C. water, as needed
¼ -1/2 tsp. salt

Tahini Sauce: Make the sauce by combining the tahini paste, lemon juice, and garlic in a bowl and stirring to combine. Add the water a little at a time as needed to form a smooth, creamy sauce approximately the thickness of heavy cream. (Note that the sauce might appear to separate for a bit before enough water has been added; just keep adding more water bit by bit and stirring until the sauce comes together.) Season to taste with salt and more lemon juice, if necessary. Transfer to a nonreactive container and refrigerate until ready to serve the falafel.

I think this would be fairly adaptable to LTS.  I’ve got some large containers of dried herbs, onions and garlic ordered.  I’m going to test out making this without fresh herbs and garlic.