Wednesday, March 11: Falafel Pitas

Falafel is a great, healthy meal to make that uses both pantry items (chickpeas, oats, pita bread) and bit and bobs from your fridge that you want to use up (veggies, cheese). Tonight we made them with all the fixin’s: feta, leftover romesco sauce from last night, banana peppers, fresh tomatoes, and spinach.

For the falafel: Put 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats in a food processor and pulse into a course flour. Add 1 can drained, rinsed chickpeas, a small bunch of parsley (about 1/2 cup), 1-2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp cumin, a few shakes of cayenne, and a large pinch of salt. Pulse until combined into a course mash — not too smooth, as you don’t want to make hummus! Cover and let chill in the fridge for an hour or so, if you have time.

When you’re ready to eat, scoop out about 2 TB of the mixture and form into balls (I found it easier to firmly pack/press them into balls rather than roll them, which sometimes made them crumble) — you’ll have around 10 balls. Heat a few TB olive oil in a large non-stick skillet and add the balls to the pan, making sure to leave room around each one. Let cook undisturbed for ~5 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom. Carefully flip (er, roll?) over and let the other side cook for another 5 minutes. Once all the falafel balls are golden brown, firm to the touch, and cooked through, you are ready to eat! Pile into pita bread with your favorite spreads, toppings, veggies, and/or cheese. (This recipe is adapted from the cookbook The Dude Diet Dinnertime.)