Meatless Monday! Much to my son’s chagrin, I push to have at least one vegetarian dish a week. We haven’t been that disciplined over the summer, but with school fast approaching, I figured it was time to start reinstating routine.
Although my son grumbles when I say vegetarian, he never grumbles when I say I’m going to make falafels. He loves them. My husband also loves them, but he’s really addicted to the salad. Vinegar makes him feel warm and cozy and like everything is good and holy in the world. I double the salad dressing because he pours most of it in his bowl and uses his flatbread to sop it up!
The most work comes from prepping the salad. With small, diced vegetables, it takes about 15 minutes to cut everything up. But from there, everything comes together very quickly!
To make the falafels, pulse all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Super easy! Just make sure not to blend to the point that you’ve made hummus! Once you cook the falafels, you can either make falafel bowls or stuff everything into flatbread.
This meal is so nutritious. From the protein in the chickpeas, the fiber, the vitamin C, the potassium… the list can go on! This is such a heart healthy meal to turn to, and even slightly cutting out meat from your diet benefits the environment.
Enjoy!
Print
Falafels with Shepherd’s Salad and Tzatziki
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: ~10 falafels
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Shepherd’s Salad
1 1/2 cups feta ~ 6 oz.
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into eighths
1 medium green pepper, diced
1 English cucumber, seeds removed, diced
1/2 a red onion, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup champagne vinegar, or white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Tzatziki
2 cups Greek yogurt
1/2 an English cucumber, seeds removed, grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 TB lemon juice
1 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper
Falafels
15.5 oz can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
1 cup parsley
1 cup cilantro
4 garlic cloves
1/2 TB tandoori marsala
1/2 TB cumin
1/2 TB dried mint
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 TB lemon juice
pinch of salt and pepper
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Flatbread or gyros to serve
Instructions
Shepherd’s Salad
For the salad, combine the feta, tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, and red onion. In a bowl or measuring cup, combine the olive oil and champagne vinegar. Season with a pinch each of salt and pepper, or to taste. Whisk and drizzle over the salad. Stir to combine. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Tzatziki Sauce
After grating the cucumbers, but them in a cheesecloth and squeeze out as much water as possible. In a bowl, combine the yogurt, cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Falafels
Prepare the falafels. In a blender or food processor, place the garbanzo beans (chickpeas), cilantro, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, tandoori marsala, cumin,flour, baking powder, and salt and pepper. Pulse until ingredients are small crumbles, but be careful not to over blend and make hummus!
With your hands, estimate about a tablespoon worth of the falafel mix. Roll into either a small patty, place on a plate and continue until all of the mix is used. Generally, this makes about 9 to 10 falafels.
When ready, heat a pan over medium heat. Lightly drizzle olive oil in the pan ~ 1 TB. When the pan is hot, swirl the oil to coat the pan. Place in the falafels. If using an 11” to 12” pan, all of the falafels will fit. Cook for about 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown.
Serve
You can serve this as a falafel bowl: in a bowl, spoon in the Shepherd’s Salad, then the falafels, and top with tzatziki. Serve with a side of flatbread or gyros.
Or, you can make falafel sandwiches. Take flatbread and spoon salad on top. Then place the falafels and tzatziki.
Serve and enjoy!
Keywords: Meatless Mondays, Vegetarian, Mediterranean, Salad, Falafels, Shepherd’s Salad, Israeli Salad
