Remember that delightful cucumber yogurt we made last week? I wanted to capitalize on that luscious, creamy, goodness (and use up some of the leftovers) by including it in another recipe this week! I give you…drumroll… Falafel Cakes! Baked fresh, fully vegetarian, and healthy as all get out.

Ingredients (for main dish):

• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (use wheat/gluten-free if needed)
• 2 Tbsp. tahini (sesame paste), or use hummus if you can’t find tahini, or use toasted sesame seeds, hummus or sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped, or use cumin
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 lemon, juice only, about 1/4 cup
• 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 8 scallions, thinly sliced (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 cups chickpeas (garbanzo beans), (use 30 oz. canned or 3 cups cooked chickpeas

http://www.thescramble.com/recipes/chickpea-cakes/

Ingredients (for toppings):

• Pitas (I used Naan, but you can use any variety or make your own flatbread, too!)
• Shredded Spinach
• Tomatoes
• Cucumber Yogurt
• Squeeze of Lemon

Preheat: Oven to 400. (Or follow The Scramble directions, here.)

Combine: Now check out how easy this is. Combine all the ingredients in your food processor (VitaMix, Bledtec, Cuisinart, Kitchen Aid, etc.) Hint: I don’t have one of these fancy gadgets, so I just combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl and get out my immersion blender, buzzzzzzzzz, and it’s done!!!

Your mixture should be fine and uniform in texture, but not pureed. Does it hold its shape a bit if you ball it up? Then it’s perfect! If it falls apart, add an extra bit of tahini or water. If it is too creamy, add a some more bread crumbs.

See, it’s so easy, even a three-year old can manage! 🙂

Form: Scoop out a golf-ball sized lump of the chickpeas, form it into a ball, and then flatten to about 1/2 inch thick onto a prepared (read sprayed with olive oil) baking sheet. You can brush each patty with olive oil if you’d like, or pop them in the oven right then if you’re running low on time!

Cook: Here’s where you have options, I like either. The scramble used a more traditional cooking method. Her directions can be viewed here. I wanted to bake my chickpea patties, so I used directions found here. Bake the falafel patties for 15 minutes, they should turn a nice golden brown.

5 minutes before the falafel are done, put the pitas in the oven to warm.

Compile: Take Falafel and the Naan out of the oven. Place pitas on each plate toped with falafel patties, spinach, tomatoes, cucumber yogurt, splash of lemon.

EAT!!!

I’d love to know if this meal makes you as happy as it did this cute man below?!?

Let’s hear it for hump day!

X, Megan