Recipe: Falafel with Tzatziki and Toasted Pita

When I saw a relatively easy falafel recipe in Fine Cooking magazine, I jumped on it. It was much tastier than the pre-mades and boxed versions, but I should have read the reader's comments before tackling it myself. Changes I made to the recipe: Fried the patties longer and used a pre-made Tzadziki. Changes I should have made to the recipe: Next time I'll add an egg, which might have firmed up the mixture.

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 
• Extra-virgin olive oil as needed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 
• 1 cup diced yellow onion
• 1/2-1 cup panko or plain bread crumbs
• 1-1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced or quartered 
• 8-12 ounces freshly prepared or purchased tzatziki*
• 4 pitas, warmed

*I used Trader Joe's brand. You can make your own by combining dill, yogurt, garlic, salt and pepper and peeled and thinly-sliced or chopped cucumbers.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas, 2 tablespoons of the oil, cumin, coriander, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and half teaspoon black pepper into a chunky paste. Add the onion and breadcrumbs and pulse until the mixture tightens up. You should be able to easily form it into a patty—adding more breadcrumbs as needed. Form the chickpea mixture into twelve 1/2-inch-thick patties.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering hot. Add 6 of the patties and cook until nicely browned, about 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook the other sides until browned, an additional 3-4 minutes. Transfer the patties to a baking sheet. Repeat with 2 tablespoon or more oil and the remaining six patties. Bake the patties until heated through, about 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, toss the tomatoes with the tzatziki. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.Split the pitas and stuff them with the falafel and tomato-cucumber salad.

This recipe was written by Peggy Lampman and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on April 26, 2011.