Skinny Falafel Pitas

Happy New Year, everyone!

Finished 2013 with a bang at Zedd's NYE concert

2013 was an incredible year filled with new friends, travel, and a lot of clinical hours. It's a bittersweet ending, but I'm so excited to see what 2014 has in store. I'm graduating in May, getting married in June, taking my board exam to be an RN, moving to Chicago, and hunting for a new job. My fiancé Matt and I will be ending two years of long distance and moving in together. It's a lot to take in. While I had many new experiences last year, my goal for this year is to try as many new things as possible, and capitalize on every lesson learned.
I've started my Year of Novelty by making two new healthy vegetarian recipes on the fly. Last night Matt and I tried my remix of  Paula Deen's Veggie Chili (I added poblano and caramelized fresh onions).
Tonight I tried my hand at these falafel patties. I've baked falafel balls in the past, but I wanted to use the oven to roast some veggies. I decided to see how the falafel would turn out if I prepared it more like I make a salmon patty instead of smaller balls. 
They held together well before they were cooked, but tended to fall apart a little once I flipped them on the skillet. If you want your patties to hold together better, you might want to try using a little more egg. I actually preferred that they fell apart, since the pieces spread out well in a pita.
The patties were tasty, but the real star of the show was the Tzatziki-inspired sauce. It was the perfect combo of creamy, herby and tangy.

To make the falafel, you'll need:
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 egg
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients, and use a hand mixer or food processor to mix (I prefer the hand mixer because it gives me more control over the consistency). Form patties from the dough, and place on a sprayed or oiled skillet. Cook on medium heat, and flip when the bottom is brown. Continue cooking on the other side until golden brown.

This should be your dough consistency

To make the yogurt sauce, you'll need the following ingredients:

1 6oz container plain greek yogurt (I used Fage 0%)
1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup finely copped onion
1/3 cup finely chopped cucumber

Stir all ingredients in a bowl until well combined. You could also throw all the ingredients in a food processor, but I'm partial to chunky sauces (and I was too lazy to clean more appliances).

Serve the falafel in a warm pita stuffed with some spinach, cucumber slices, and tomato. Split up the patty and layer the sauce throughout the pita, then top it all with more sauce. Don't be afraid to get a little crazy with the yogurt.

Mmmm, finger lickin' good!

The final product was good enough for even Meat-Loving Matt to give two thumbs up, and completely satisfied my craving for greasy Greek food. Next time you're in the mood for some good falafel, give this recipe a try, and let me know how you liked it! Here's to a fantastic year!