Quick and Easy Falafels with Tzatziki

Quick and Easy Falafels

It's already March. Yeah! It means we’re sneaking up on spring. It’s time to freshen up our cooking routines and slip into easy meals, with fresh soon-to-be-found local spring foods.

So, lets revitalize our recipe selections and talk cookbooks!

Do you buy or collect cookbooks? How many do you own? When you buy a new one, do you actually try the recipes? If not, why?

To me, accumulating cookbooks is like buying kitchen gadgets that you rarely use: eventually you re-discover them in your kitchen drawer (or on your cookbook shelf) and wonder why you bought them in the first place.

New cookbooks mean new recipes, and that means changing things up. It isn’t easy. I love the idea of cooking new foods but putting it into action takes effort.

I think you’ll agree it’s easy-peasy to cook the same old recipes over and over again. It’s like driving home from work: it’s uncomplicated to drive the same route every day. Why muddle things up by taking a longer, more scenic route, just for sake of change?

But this is exactly the point of trying new recipes - to shake things up and escape the doldrums of cooking every day and add a dash of excitement to the monotonous chore of home cooking. Or at least that’s what I tell myself whenever I happen to wander into a bookstore considering a new cookbook.

My newest purchase is from Donna Hay called, “The Fast Five, Shortcuts to Deliciousness.” She’s an Australian food stylist and cookbook author whose mouthwatering photos will motivate anyone to cook.

As the name states, the recipes are fast and delicious - my type of cooking. I chose to make her falafel recipe. Falafels are typically fried, but hers are baked.

They were a nice surprise! I served them on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocado. The recipe called for sumac on top, which I found at a Persian grocery store…but it’s optional.

Falafels with Tzatziki

Quick and Easy Falafels

These falafels are loaded with flavour. Serve with tzatziki (recipe below) chopped tomatoes, diced cucumbers and avocado. You can also try adding sumac on top, a middle eastern spice made from dried red berries. It’s tangy, citrusy, earthy and mildly sweet. It is delicious, but don't worry if you can't find it - it's optional.

Serves 6

3 (540 ml) cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained (about six cups)

1 medium white onion, chopped

1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 cup cilantro leaves

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Pita bread

Diced baby (Persion) cucumbers

Diced tomatoes

Avocado, sliced

Tzatziki

Sumac (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place chickpeas on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes to dry slightly.

Transfer chickpeas to a food processor. Add the onion, parsley, cilantro, oil, flour, cumin, garlic, baking powder, salt and pepper. Process until finely chopped.

Shape mixture into small patties, about 2 tablespoons each, and place baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush each patty with olive oil and bake 25 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

To serve, place one or two patties on a pita bread and sprinkle sumac on top, if using. Add cucumber, tomato, avocado slices and tzatziki. Enjoy!

Tzatziki

Makes about 1 ½ cups

1 cup Greek-style plain yogurt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 medium English cucumber

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon dried dill

Directions:

Grate the cucumber and squeeze out all the excess liquid using a towel or your hands.