Baked Falafel and Easter Eggs

Baked Falafel is a versatile, meatless main that is perfect for when you need to pull something together, yet you may be short on ingredients.

 I usually have chickpeas in my cupboard and with some garlic, a bit of flour and few spices, you have some pretty, tasty, little chickpea-patties ready to be baked (or fried, if you prefer).

The recipe makes about 10 small falafel.  If I am going to double (which I highly recommend!), I do it in two separate batches as one batch fits perfectly in the food processor without overcrowding everything, or having it shooting out the top when you turn it on!

Ingredients:
One 19 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 big cloves of garlic
One small onion, diced
A handful of fresh parsley (if I don't have any, which I didn't, I throw in whatever green stuff I can find; I used arugula tonight!)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
A teaspoon of cumin
A teaspoon baking powder
                                                            A tablespoon chili-garlic hot sauce
                                                            One tablespoon white vinegar
                                                            Half a jarred, roasted red pepper (optional)
                                                            Four tablespoons of flour (a little more if it is too sticky)

Toss everything but the flour in the bowl of your food processor and whirl in short, quick bouts until combined but not mush.  Add your flour and pulse briefly to combine.  Taste and add any additional seasoning or herbs you wish to intensify the flavours.

Brush lightly with olive oil and bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden flipping at the half-way point.  These could also be fried in a pan with a little oil for a couple minutes per side.

These taste great stuffed in a warm pita pocket with lots of fresh lettuce, tomato, red onions, black olives, and tzatziki, or whatever other fixings you like.

Tonight we skipped the pita and ate them with a big bowl of Greek salad and some creamy dill dressing because that is what we had on hand.

To make tzatzki, I simply drain some Greek yogurt (a generous cup or two) over a coffee filter-lined strainer until nice and thick, stir in some finely diced English cucumber, a couple cloves of grated garlic and some lemon zest with some chopped fresh dill if I have it in the garden.

A pita pocket slathered in hummus and topped with assorted fresh veggies is also a great vehicle for these patties. You can find my recipe for hummus here.

Topped on a grain bowl with a side of roasted veggies and a sprinkle of goat cheese would also be a great meal.

Other great things I am loving today are some pictures from Thursday's ice storm and some Easter egg-dyeing creativity!

We have been colouring Easter eggs since the kids were old enough to hold a spoon and it never seems to get old.

It has morphed into a bit of an Easter weekend tradition to boil up a big batch of eggs, gather up some sharpies, egg dye, and various other random materials -- elastics, duct tape -- and see what happens.