falafel

I've been wanting to make falafel, but I thought it required advanced deep frying skills, which despite 2 undergrad years as a Wendy's employee, are not my forte. I was also a little on edge about all of that saturated fat.

But, I love falafel and I decided to tackle it anyway. In the process, I was pleasantly surprised to find this easy and healthy recipe on the crockpot365 blog.

I made this delicious falafel in the crockpot with just a drizzling of heart healthy olive oil! I served it in whole wheat pitas with lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce, with a side of greek salad.

Tzatziki Sauce

1 cup plain yogurt (strain homemade, or use Greek, like Fage)
1/4 cup peeled, chopped cucumber
1 T finely chopped onion
1/4 t salt
1 t dried dill
1/2 - 1 garlic clove, pressed

Whisk together ingredients and chill for at least a few hours, preferably overnight.

Even though I pressure cooked my chickpeas (from dried) and made my yogurt from scratch, this was still a quick and delicious version of falafel, and something I'll make often.

Did I mention that these falafel sandwiches cost less for four servings than one 6" sub?