Two of Our All Time Favorite Recipes...Falafel and Tzatzki

One of our most favorite meals that we have been making on a regular bases recently has been falafel. I guess you could say we have been craving the medeterian cuisine recently. My daughters have been loving it as well. Here is a recipe that we have been perfecting each time and now I think we have perfected it to our taste buds.

In addition, my daughters have an all time favorite of tzatziki, that they have been dipping the falafel into (as well as my husband and I drizzling the tzatzki onto our falafel inside of a pita). My younger daughter will not touch anything yogurt related, except for this recipe. Enjoy. I apologize for not taking a photograph of these two recipes.


Falafel

1 can of garbanzo beans (drained).
1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves
¼ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper (I did use black pepper, in that I had this and not cayenne pepper)
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil for frying

Drain the garbanzo beans and rinse. Combine in a food processor with the onion, garlic, and parsley and grind to the consistency of a coarse meal. Add the cumin, coriander, and pepper and pulse to mix.

Dissolve the salt and baking soda in ¼ cup water in a large bowl. Add the garbanzo mixture and stir to mix.
Add the flour (I add a little each time) until the mixture will hold together when molded. Mold into 8 flat, round like disks, roughly 2 inches wide.

Pour oil into a tall pot, roughly 3-5 inches (I have played with this and really do not have a good depth). Heat over medium heat until the oil registers 350F. Working in batches, deep fry the disks until golden brown (roughly 8-10 minutes). Transfer to paper towel to drain and serve at once.

Tzatziki16 ounces (2 cups) of thick Greek yogurt (we like the Meijer brand of whole fat yogurt – it a thicker yogurt similar to a Greek yogurt
4 to 10 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup of diced or grated cucumber (make sure that you let the water in the cucumber drain out of the colander, otherwise the tzatziki will be very runny).
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 teaspoons of lemon juice

Prepare all ingredients in advance. Combine oil and lemon juice in a medium mixing bowl. Fold the yogurt in slowly, making sure it mixes completely with the oil. Add the garlic, according to taste, and the cucumber. Stir until evenly distributed.

Yield: about 2 1/2 cups