Falafels:
1 can of chick peas (garbanzo beans)
1/2 a medium onion cut into chunks
2-3 tablespoons of bread crumbs
2 tablespoons of chick pean flour (for you Indians out there, this is chana flour)
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)
1-2 stalks of green onions (chopped)
Pita bread to stuff your falafels in
Have some oil and extra flour on the side
With your handy dandy food processor, combine all the above ingredients, blend away (don't forget to do a little jig while it spins)! You may need to drizzle some olive oil as it spins to get the right texture (grainy and a bit sticky).
Once all mixed, start creating balls. It will help to rub your hands with oil and then dip the flattened ball in the flour after down.
You can fry the falafels in a shallow pan but for a healthier alternative, bake! Place all the falafel balls on a baking pan, evenly spaced apart. Spread a little oil on both sides of the ball and bake in the oven at 350 degrees. Bake until golden brown.
Tzatziki Sauce - courtesy of one of my favorite sites: http://www.allrecipes.com/
(adjust the amounts to how much you need)
1 cup of plain yogurt
1/2 cucumber, diced or shredded
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or dill powder
2 cloves garlic, peeled
And last but not least, the Greek Salad...
2-3 tomatoes, cut into medium size chunks
1/2 onion (red or white), cut into rings
handful of flat-leaf parsley (a.k.a. Italian parsley), chopped
Black olives, cutting coasley into chunks
1/2 cucumber, cut into medium size chunks
Feta cheese
1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Combine all the veggies in a salad bowl, add in feta, salt, pepper, parsley, lemon juice and drizzle olive oil over. Toss until all veggies are well coated.
Enjoy!
