A Touch of the Mediterranean

April 12, 2011 by iscribbler | 7 Comments

I subscribe to a number of food blogs, and I love waking up in the morning to check the day’s posts.  Decadent cakes, chunky cookies, and fruity pies make me want to bake all week long.  While most of my feeds are of the baking variety, there are only a couple yummy enough that also post “real food” recipes.

One of which is Andrea Mitchell’s Can You Stay for Dinner? Not only is the title cute, but the recipes are gorgeous and delicious.  I should know, since I’ve just consumed her Baked Falafel with Lemon Tahini Sauce.

The minute I saw this recipe I knew that I had to cook it.  And NOW.  I have a score of recipes that I keep bookmarked in my over burgeoning recipe folder that I’ve yet to taste.  After one look at this sandwich, I knew that it would make a perfect choice for my weeknight dinners and I printed it out.

This recipe looked fresh, tasty and healthy.

And it IS fresh, tasty and healthy.

It all came together in about 30 minutes and the ingredient list was very manageable.

Although I do have a very embarrassing confession:  I went to the store today in search of tahini paste only to find out that they didn’t have any.  That isn’t the worst part.   When I really got down to think about it, I didn’t have a clue what was in tahini paste.  (I was so ashamed that I didn’t even ask the stock person about where it might be kept.  What if they asked me what it was and here I didn’t have a clue?  Instead, I searched every aisle with no luck.)

For those that also don’t know Tahini and want to save face for when they go to the store – Tahini paste is made out of ground sesame seeds.  (I almost bought some almonds thinking that I could make my own – luckily I’m a cheapskate and didn’t since I’d have had marzipan for topping – yuck.)

What I bought instead was this:

The BEST dip I've eaten in ages (almost as good as their spinach dip).

The recipe called for Feta and (cue another embarrassing confession) I’ve never had Feta before.  I wasn’t sure if I’d like it and what better way to “try” it than to use this dip?  It sounds “Greek-y”, like it would be good in a gyro (another recipe I plan to cook soon), and since I didn’t have tahini, I went with this instead.   (You can find this in the cooler section of your vegetable aisle.)

This meant that what I ended up with tonight was not Baked Falafel with Lemon Tahini Sauce but Baked Falafel with Cucumber Dill Feta Dip.

And it was hands down the best sandwich I’ve had in ages.

Ah, yes, one more thing: Buy fresh pita bread and buy a good pita.  I opted to use up what I had in the freezer and let me tell you, it really affected my poor sandwich.  I could tell that my sandwich wanted to just shine in my mouth with flavor but the horrible, crumbly pita bread was keeping it back.  Definitely splurge a bit on the pita when you make this.

Baked Falafel with Cucumber Dill Feta Dip

Just looking at this picture makes me want to have another sandwich!

(Slightly adapted from the original that you can find here.)

Serves 2, 4 patties each (To be honest, I had 3 round patties and was stuffed.)

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with either a silpat (which I did) or parchment paper.

Falafel

Dump the following ingredients in a food processor and pulse until combined.

• 15 oz can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley (I used about twice this amount and it came out just fine)
• 2 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Toppings

• diced red onion
• chopped tomatoes
• chopped lettuce

Otria Cucumber Dill Feta Dip by Marzetti

• I used about 1 tsp per half pita pocket

2 Pita Breads (or 3 or cut one in half for two sandwiches. . .  you know, go with the flow), warmed

Directions:

Shape the pulsed falafel ingredients into 8 patties (around 2 inches round).  Place on lined cookie sheet and brush each side with oil.  Cook for 20 minutes, turning once after 10 minutes to brown both sides.

Once cooked, assemble with toppings and munch away!

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