Falafel Pitas with Cucumber Dipping Sauce

I don't remember how I came across this recipe. Oh, I take that back. I think I had bookmarked a list of easy vegetarian dinners from the Cooking Light website and found it that way. I'm trying to work back in some more vegetarian meals into our dinners each week. I really like falafel, but I'd never tried making my own before. it sounded pretty easy from this recipe and most of the ingredients were things I had on hand (well, except the pita bread). Double bonus!!

Falafel Pitas with Cucumber Dipping Sauce
Source: CookingLight.com

1/4 cup minced red onion
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1 (1-ounce) slice whole wheat bread, torn into pieces
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 (6-inch) whole wheat pitas, split
1 cup arugula
1/2 cup Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing

Combine first 10 ingredients in a food processor; pulse 6 times or until well blended (mixture will be wet).

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Spoon about 1/3 cup chickpea mixture per patty into pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Line each pita half with 1/4 cup arugula, add 1 patty to each pita half, and spoon 2 tablespoons Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing into each pita half.

Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing
Source: CookingLight.com

1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/2 cup diced seedless cucumber
1/4 cup minced red onion
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill.

Note: Nutritional analysis includes Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing.
Calories: 280
Calories from fat: 30%
Fat: 9.4g
Saturated fat: 1.2g
Monounsaturated fat: 5g
Polyunsaturated fat: 2.2g
Protein: 11.4g
Carbohydrate: 40.1g
Fiber: 7.3g
Cholesterol: 53mg
Iron: 3.3mg
Sodium: 592mg
Calcium: 81mg

*****

Since the nutritional info was there on the website, I figured I'd include it for the recipe. I actually used whole wheat naan instead of pita bread because pita bread and I just don't get along. We have issues...always have, always will. I find naan much easier to work with and even a little tastier.

I wasn't really sure what my kids were going to think of this, but they both ate it pretty well. Especially after I gave them ketchup to dip their falafel in. I know, I know...ketchup with falafel?! But they ate it all and there wasn't a fight at the dinner table. Sometimes we moms do what we gotta do.

This was super easy to put together and really tasty. I'd definitely make it again, especially since for the most part it was made up of things I had in my fridge or pantry already!

Falafel mixture:


Falafel patties cooking away:


Mmmm...falafel pitas...

Falafel Pitas

I've had a great weekend!! Yesterday Jen B. and I went to our local Le Creuset outlet because one of their colors was being discontinued, and all items in that color were 30% off!! We're both suckers for Le Creuset--especially on sale--so we couldn't resist. We got some great deals; I got a 4-quart oval pot, an oval casserole dish, a batter bowl, and my mother-in-law's birthday present. I'm not sure if she checks my blog, so I don't want to say what it is. ;) We hit a few other shops while we were at the outlet mall, then we had lunch at Pappadeaux's. Oh man, was it ever good. We both had the crawfish combo--fried crawfish and crawfish etouffee with dirty rice. YUM! We were in food heaven. Then the husband, kids, and I went over to my aunt and uncle's for an impromptu family dinner. My uncle grilled steaks which were amazing. It was a great food day, although I woke up this morning with a total food hangover. I definitely over-induldged yesterday, but it was worth every bite!

Originally we were going to have these falafel pitas last night, but when my aunt called inviting us over for steak I figured they'd be fine waiting until tonight. I bought the falafel at Costco on Jen B's recommendation. Her family loves them, so I thought we'd give them a try. I'm excited to have an easy dinner for tonight because it's been a bit of a rough day. This is her recipe, but I'm changing it up just a little.

Jen's Falafel Pitas
pita bread of your choice
2-3 falafel patties per sandwich (I am using pre-made)
lettuce of your choice (I like romaine or baby spinach)
sliced red onion
sliced tomato
sliced cucumber
Tzatziki sauce or hummus for topping
Fresh cilantro (optional)

Cook Falafel according to package directions. Place in pita with other ingredients of your choice. Eat like a sandwich.

*****

In an interesting twist, the day I bought the falafel I was looking through last month's issue of Cooking Light and there was a similar recipe in the magazine, only it involved making your own falafel. There was a tzatziki sauce recipe included, so that's what I'm using on ours. I heart tzatziki very much!

Tzatziki Sauce
1 cup 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt
2/3 cup chopped peeled cucumber
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
1 garlic clove, minced

Combine ingredients.

*****

Yum. I'm really excited for this and hope the husband and boy like it. I looked on RecipeZaar.com for some kind of potato recipe to go with this and found a couple that sound good. I'm going to stick with the Greek theme and am trying to decide between two recipes I found. I'll post that recipe once I pick one of them.

*****

This dinner was a bit of a mishap, but it was totally my fault. I'm pita inept. Always have been, always will be. I cannot for the life of me separate them. I don't know what my deal is. So, we couldn't stuff the pitas with all the fixings, so we put them on top and tried to fold them. It worked okay...except for the falafel (is one falafel still called falafel?) that flew out of the husband's and landed in his drink. Seriously. I kind of kicked myself because at the store I stood there debating between pitas and naan, which Jen had used the last time she made this. I opted for pitas--forgetting about my ineptness--because they were something like $0.75 cheaper. Sigh. Should have gone for the naan. Next time.

The tzatziki was good, although I think I like it with shredded cucumbers instead of chunks. And I wish I would have thought far enough ahead to make it earlier in the day so the flavors had time to marry more than they did.

I will definitely make this again (and not just because there was falafel left), but I'll skip the pitas and save myself a lot of grief, and I'll go with naan instead. It was a yummy vegetarian dinner, and we all liked it.

Portobello Pita Pockets

Don't you love when something goes on sale that you normally think is too expensive? It's pretty silly of me because a package of portobellos is usually $3 at my grocery store, but I never want to spend that much on them. They were on sale for $2.50 this week, and somehow that price is totally fine for me! Anyway, I was excited they were on sale because we hadn't had them in awhile. I think last time I had some I made Portobello Parmesan, and I know the husband likes these pita things so I figured I'd make them instead of the parmesan ones.

Portobello Pita Pockets
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp dried rosemary
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 medium onion, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
4 medium portobello mushroom caps (3-4 inches in diameter)
2 whole wheat pita pocket bread rounds, cut in half
2 plum tomatoes, sliced
1 cup packed fresh baby spinach leaves
4 slices reduced-fat Swiss cheese

Combine vinegar, oil, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the vinegar mixture. Brush both sides of the onion slices and mushroom caps with remaining vinegar mixture.

Heat grill (or grill pan) to medium high heat. Place pita bread rounds on grill, grilling 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove from grill. Place onions and mushrooms on grill; cook 4-6 minutes or until vegetables are tender and have grill marks, turning once.

To assemble sandwiches, cut pita rounds in half. Line each pita round with spinach leaves, one slice cheese, one slice onion, one mushroom cap, and tomato slices. Drizzle each pita with reserved vinegar mixture. Serve immediately.

Portobello Pita Pockets

I've only made this once before, but it was really good. My husband is watching his cholesterol, so I figured portobello mushrooms would be a good substitute for hamburgers because of their meaty flavor. He really liked them. I'm not sure what we'll have on the side. I bought some corn on the cob yesterday, so I may grill that up while I'm doing the mushrooms and onions.

Portobello Pita Pockets
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp dried rosemary
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 medium onion, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
4 medium portobello mushroom caps (3-4 inches in diameter)
2 whole wheat pita pocket bread rounds, cut in half
2 plum tomatoes, sliced
1 cup packed fresh baby spinach leaves
4 slices reduced-fat Swiss cheese

Combine vinegar, oil, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the vinegar mixture. Brush both sides of the onion slices and mushroom caps with remaining vinegar mixture.

Heat grill (or grill pan) to medium high heat. Place pita bread rounds on grill, grilling 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove from grill. Place onions and mushrooms on grill; cook 4-6 minutes or until vegetables are tender and have grill marks, turning once.

To assemble sandwiches, cut pita rounds in half. Line each pita round with spinach leaves, one slice cheese, one slice onion, one mushroom cap, and tomato slices. Drizzle each pita with reserved vinegar mixture. Serve immediately.

Now, when I made it last time I found an entire slice of onion was way too much onion for my liking, so I just put a couple rings into each pita. I also didn't like drizzling the extra vinegar on the sandwiches as I thought that made it too soggy. We're using Provolone cheese instead of Swiss tonight, too.