Falafel with Creamy Tahini-Yogurt Sauce

I don’t know why, but earlier this summer I started craving falafel. And Foxy Falafel, my go-to source for truly great falafel, is limited to curbside pick-up during the pandemic. Deep-fried food just doesn’t travel well, and I’m thinking it wouldn’t be as amazing by the time I got it home.

This led me to look for an authentic recipe that would satisfy my craving. I found it and must share—it’s that good! Plus, it’s not deep-fried–yay! Golden brown and crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside with all those signature falafel herbs and spices, it’s served with a creamy tahini-yogurt sauce, thinly sliced radishes, cucumber, red onion, and tomatoes from our garden. All piled on a whole wheat tortilla or, if you have time, stuffed in my whole wheat pita bread, it’s a nutritious, delicious all-in-one meal.

There’s nothing difficult or time-consuming about this other than the need to plan ahead and start soaking the dried chickpeas the night before (canned chickpeas won’t work here). And after soaking, you don’t have to cook the beans, which makes this recipe even easier! Everything else comes together quickly enough for a weeknight meal. A very special weeknight meal! Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
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Adapted from this Downshiftology recipe
This recipe is naturally gluten-free and all that’s needed to make it vegan is to use a tahini sauce without the yogurt, like this one.

1 cup dried chickpeas (canned won’t work in this recipe)

About half of a medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

1 cup fresh parsley, in between loosely and tightly packed

1 cup fresh cilantro, in between loosely and tightly packed

1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 heaping teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Several grinds of black pepper

2 tablespoons chickpea flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

Grapeseed or avocado oil for pan-frying (or another neutral oil of choice)

Tahini-yogurt sauce, recipe follows

Flour or corn tortillas or my whole wheat pita bread

Accompaniments:
Thinly sliced radishes, cucumbers, red onion, diced tomato

The night before you plan to make the falafel, place the chickpeas in a pot and cover with water by 2-3 inches (the chickpeas will triple in size and you want to make sure they stay submerged). Cover pot and set aside.

The next day, drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them to your food processor (after draining, I dump them onto a clean kitchen towel and pat them dry before putting them in the food processor).

Add the onion, parsley, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, cumin, salt, cardamom, and black pepper to the food processor and process until the mixture is the texture of coarse sand (you may have to stop and scrape down the sides a couple times).

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the chickpea flour and baking soda. Cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet and place it in oven.

Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat. Add a couple tablespoons oil. When oil is hot, form falafel mixture into balls (I used a #30 cookie dough scoop, which is about 1 ½-2 tablespoons) and place in hot pan. Flatten slightly with a spatula. You’ll have to do this in batches—don’t crowd the falafels.

If the mixture seems too wet, add another tablespoon of chickpea flour. If it seems too dry, add a tablespoon of water (I didn’t need to do either both times I have made this recipe).

Cook the falafels for about 3 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom. Flip and cook another 3 minutes. Remove to rack in oven to stay warm. Repeat with remaining falafel mixture. You will probably need to add more oil to the pan.

Serve in warm tortillas or pita with a swoosh of tahini-yogurt sauce, several falafels, tomato, radish, cucumber, or other toppings of choice. Makes about 4 servings or 18-20 falafel.

Creamy Tahini Yogurt Sauce
From this Feasting at Home recipe

¾ cup plain Greek yogurt (I used 2%)

¼ cup tahini

2 garlic cloves, grated on a micro-plane

Juice of one medium lemon

½ to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (my tahini was salt-free, so I used the full teaspoon)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Wisk all ingredients in small bowl until thoroughly combined and creamy. Can make a day or two ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate until use.

 

Creamy Chickpea Pasta with Spinach and Fresh Oregano

Another one of those more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts kind of recipes, these seemingly simple, rather ordinary ingredients come together to wow you. I’m so happy when that happens!

This dish showed up a while back in the daily New York Times Cooking email, which I’ve mostly ignored since they started charging a membership fee to access their recipes. Occasionally though, I’ll read it, and sometimes, am able to avoid that paywall and access recipes. No rhyme or reason to it, but when it works, I’m thrilled.

Switched up a bit from the original recipe, I used fresh oregano instead of rosemary (not a huge rosemary fan) and evaporated milk instead of heavy cream (to lighten things up). Whole wheat spaghetti makes this a bit healthier too, so even though it’s is a pasta dish, there’s no reason to feel guilty.

As the Times notes, you can sub a different bean (white beans, perhaps) or different greens (I think Swiss chard would be delicious), and the addition of spices such as ground coriander, toasted fennel seeds (I will try this next time), or smoked paprika would be nice.

Back to my more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts description, this truly is a “wow” dish, just as perfectly suited for a weeknight meal as it is for a dinner party. I’ve served it to company and received rave reviews, and it’s also one of Pete’s and my favorites. Make this! Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
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From New York Times Cooking

Kosher or sea salt

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary or a tablespoon fresh oregano, plus more for garnish

½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper, or ¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large shallot, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1 cup heavy cream (instead I used evaporated milk to lighten it up—it was still plenty rich)

1 six-ounce bag baby spinach (about 6 packed cups)

12 ounces spaghetti or bucatini (I used whole wheat spaghetti)

½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Lemon wedges, for serving

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.

In a wide, deep skillet, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the chickpeas, oregano (or rosemary), and Aleppo or crushed red pepper. Season generously with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chickpeas start to caramelize at their edges and pop, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer about half of the chickpeas to a bowl. Reserve for garnish.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the shallots and garlic to the skillet, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the heavy cream (or evaporated milk) and cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Turn off heat, stir in the spinach and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook the pasta until a couple minutes short of al dente, according to package directions. Do not drain the pasta, but, using tongs, transfer the pasta directly from the pot to the spinach and cream sauce. Add 1 cup pasta cooking water and the Parmesan. Cook over medium-high, stirring vigorously with the tongs, until the sauce is thickened, and pasta is al dente, about 2 minutes. Add a splash of pasta water to loosen sauce, if needed

Transfer to bowls, and top with reserved chickpeas, rosemary or oregano, and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately with lemon wedges for squeezing on top—the lemon gives it that perfect finish! Serves 4.

Sweet Potato Chickpea Patties with Tangy Coleslaw

Two new-to-me recipes came together last night in a flavor combination that was a total winner. All they needed was a little spicy barbeque sauce and we had a dinner to rave about. By the way, I’m currently obsessed with Trader Joe’s Organic Sriracha and Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce—smoky and seriously spicy, and extraordinarily delicious! I may just have to work on a homemade version.

I’ve wanted to share the coleslaw recipe since Father’s Day when I made it for the first time. It’s adapted from Minnesota’s Bounty: The Farmers Market Cookbook by Beth Dooley, which is getting a lot of use in my kitchen now that the farmers markets around here are in full swing (and soon so will our garden!).

I love this cookbook and if you garden or frequent farmers markets you will too. It’s divided into sections for fruit, vegetables, cheeses, grains and meat & fish, along with recipes for some essentials like mayonnaise, vinaigrettes, pastry crust and a spiked whipped cream. There are wonderful recipes for all the amazing goods found at the markets in the upper Midwest and if you enjoy seasonal cooking, you need this book! It’s a resource and guide that will give you new ideas for beautiful, healthy dishes with the freshest foods possible.

The coleslaw is great by itself, as the crowning touch on the Barbequed Pulled “Pork” I shared recently, or on these hearty and filling Sweet Potato Chickpea Patties—it’s pretty and extra tangy with the addition of Greek yogurt.
Doing some mindless food Googling the other day, I came across the Sweet Potato Chickpea Patties. Included with the original recipe was a simple guacamole of chopped avocado, red onion, lime juice and salt, and I topped the patties with that the first time I made them. DeeeeLish! But after my Sunday farmers market trip, I had red & green cabbage and carrots on hand. Sadly, we don’t have avocados at the Minnesota farmers markets and we have to rely on the supermarket variety, which can’t possibly be as good as fresh off the tree.

Bonus—any patty & coleslaw leftovers make a great lunch for work tomorrow—as I can attest. Pack little barbeque sauce too. Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
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Coleslaw:
Adapted from Minnesota’s Bounty: The Farmers Market Cookbook by Beth Dooley

4 cups shredded (or thinly sliced) green cabbage

4 cups shredded (or thinly sliced) red cabbage

1 ½ cups shredded carrot

1 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons organic sugar

¼ cup white wine vinegar

½ cup mayonnaise (I used Vegan Earth Balance Mindful Mayo—soooo good!)

¼ cup 2% Greek yogurt

½ teaspoon celery seed, or more if you’d like

Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, toss cabbages and carrot until combined. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, sugar, vinegar, mayo, yogurt and celery seed. Pour over cabbage/carrot mixture and toss until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper. Serve cold; best made a day or two ahead of serving. Serves 6.

Sweet Potato Chickpea Patties:
Adapted from this Cooking Light recipe

2 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

½ cup chopped yellow or sweet onion

½ cup chopped red bell pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeño, minced, seeds removed if you don’t want the heat

1 ¾ cup grated, uncooked sweet potato (about 8 ounces)

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup panko bread crumbs (or rolled oats for a gluten-free version)

1 ½ tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 large egg

Bottled or homemade barbeque sauce, for serving.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large skillet, over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeño and sauté for several minutes. Stir in the sweet potato, salt and pepper and cook for several more minutes.

Place the sweet potato mixture, panko, lime juice, smoked paprika, chickpeas and egg in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the chickpeas are coarsely ground.

Form the mixture into 4 patties. Heat the remaining olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the patties (you may have to do this in two batches to avoid over-crowding) to the pan and cook 3 minutes. Flip and cook 3 minutes more.

Transfer cooked patties to prepared baking pan. Bake 20-25 minutes. Serve with barbeque sauce and top with coleslaw. Makes four patties.

Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

On Wednesdays there’s a small farmers’ market in our neighborhood. Right on my way home, it has become a regular stop after work. A couple of firsts of the season today, sweet corn and tomatoes. Although we’d been patiently waiting, I was a bit surprised to see both. The tomatoes were deeply red and quite large, which made me question how they could be local. The friendly vendor explained they certainly were, but greenhouse-grown; in soil, as opposed to hydroponically. She assured me they’d be just as flavorful as the ones grown outdoors we’d be seeing at the market next month. A sample proved she wasn’t exaggerating! Tomatoes bursting with that taste of late summer I wasn’t expecting in July.

My wheels were spinning and in my mind those tomatoes were sliced, salted & peppered, and topping off a splendid summer sandwich. How convenient that right in front of me was the Grateful Bread stand! Out of River Falls, Wisconsin (with no website I could find to link to), they make delicious breads with unique ingredient blends. Last time I bought a loaf that included spent grain from the beer brewing process at River Falls’ Rush River Brewing Company. Today it was a whole wheat that included quinoa, amaranth, millet, buckwheat, flax seed, oats, rye, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds. Fresh and soft, perfect for a sandwich.

Lately I’ve been putting lots of farmers’ market veggies to use in a chickpea salad. It’s sort of tuna salad’s hippie vegetarian cousin. Mashed chickpeas, onion, radishes, garlic scapes (when I can get them), fennel, hot peppers, cabbage, and celery seed. A versatile salad, you can use whatever you have on hand beyond the chickpeas. It’s all mixed together with salt, pepper and a little mayo (once again, I’ll mention the outstanding and vegan Earth Balance Mindful Mayo—so, so good!), but, if you’re mayo-averse, you could use Greek yogurt or a mixture of mashed avocado with a little lime juice in its place.

On a crusty roll or good quality bread with peppery arugula and sliced ripe tomatoes, this is a meal of a sandwich. Or for a gluten-free option, spoon some chickpea salad on top a bed of wild rice. Finish it off with avocado slices or maybe some micro greens. Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
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1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or 1 can, rinsed and drained

½ cup chopped white or sweet onion

2-3 garlic scapes, chopped

3 radishes, diced

1-2 fennel stalks, chopped (or one celery stalk, chopped)

½ cup shredded green cabbage

1 tablespoon chopped hot pepper (jalapeño or hot cherry peppers work well)

¼ teaspoon celery seed

A couple tablespoons mayo, Greek yogurt, or mashed avocado sprinkled with fresh lime juice

Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Topping options: Arugula, lettuce, avocado, tomato, micro greens, sunflower seeds

Place chickpeas in a medium bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork. Add onion, scapes, radish, fennel, cabbage, hot pepper, and celery seed. Mix to combine. Stir in mayo. Season with salt and pepper and mix again.

Serve on crusty rolls, good quality bread, or a bed of wild rice. Makes about 4 servings.

 

 

Chickpea & Cherry Frittata with Avocado Sauce

I came across this interesting frittata recipe in the latest issue of Runner’s World and it intrigued me so much I had to make it for a weekend breakfast at the first opportunity. Chickpeas and cherries just aren’t ingredients found in your typical frittata. It’s a hearty, nutrition packed meal perfect for a leisurely post-run Sunday breakfast. I whipped up the avocado sauce to go with it because, seriously, everything is better with sauce!

This frittata could be mixed up right before your run (or even the night before) and refrigerated until ready to cook. Since the stove top work only takes a couple minutes, you can get that out of the way, pop the frittata in the oven, and have plenty of time to shower while it’s cooking so you don’t bring your running aroma to the breakfast table.

The avocado sauce can be made ahead of time too. I mixed it up the night before and stored it in a glass bowl with a tight-fitting lid. Press a layer of plastic wrap onto the surface of the sauce before you cover the bowl and the lovely green color will stay vibrant until serving time.

This time of year, fresh cherries aren’t an option in Minnesota, so I used the dried cherries I had on hand. When we’re in cherry season once again, I’ll be making this with big luscious Bings and can’t wait! I must admit I wasn’t a huge fan of the mint garnish. For my taste, basil would have been a better choice. Italian parsley, dill, or tarragon would work too.

Chickpea and Cherry Frittata with Avocado Sauce

• Servings: 4-6
• Difficulty: easy
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Adapted from Chef Sam Talbot’s recipe in the February 2014 issue of Runner’s World

8 eggs, lightly whisked
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped fresh cherries or ½ cup chopped dried cherries
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
½ cup almond milk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
¼ to ½ teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup loosely packed, torn fresh mint or basil leaves (or other fresh herb of choice), for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix eggs, chickpeas, cherries, parmesan, almond milk, thyme, agave, vinegar, salt & pepper. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a cast-iron skillet. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and cook for two minutes without stirring. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until eggs are puffed and set in the middle, about 20 minutes. Remove the skillet from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes. With a spatula, gently remove the frittata from the pan to a cutting board. Cut into wedges and garnish with mint or basil. Serve with avocado sauce (recipe below). Serves 4-6.

Avocado Sauce

1 ripe avocado
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I used vegan Earth Balance Mindful Mayo)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon agave nectar, honey, or sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ jalapeño pepper, minced, include seeds
About 1/3 cup milk (almond, soy, hemp, cow—your preference)

Place all ingredients except milk in bowl of food processor and process until well mixed. With processor running, slowly add milk and process until smooth and saucy. Enjoy!