My garden is finally planted, well my herbs at least. I’ll be finishing up the veggies tomorrow night. I love having fresh herbs readily available in my backyard!! But before I go any further, I have a confession to make…….I’m somewhat of a fresh “from the garden” herb snob!! Especially when it comes to basil. My husband keeps threatening to shut me down because I’ve only used basil a handful of times so far. hahaha! I do love basil….and rosemary, and parsley, and dill. But during the winter months, the selection at the grocery store always looks so sad. It’s starting to wilt and the beginnings of dark spots are visible. I know they have traveled long distances to try to showcase their wonderful flavors and aromas and I shouldn’t be so picky. Maybe this winter I’ll give the produce aisle packages a fair chance. BUT….now that our frosty nights are behind us (fingers crossed – I do live in Ohio) I can cook and bake lots of fun new recipes with my happy looking herbs out the back door.
Back when I started watching the Food Network on a regular basis, one of my favorite shows was Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger. She always made the best healthy looking dishes that seemed fairly easy. I’ve been making her baked falafel for a few years and they are always good. They come together pretty quick in the food processor. I made mine into 6 patties this time and baked them about 15 minutes on each side until the tops are golden brown. Tonight I had mine on a bed of arugula, grape tomatoes, some slices of cucumber and drizzled with lemon juice for the dressing. Light and springy….a perfect way to start off another week. Hope everyone had a great weekend!!
Baked Falafel
Recipe adapted from foodnetwork.com
Ingredients
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup minced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1/4 cup parsley
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine all falafel ingredients in a food processor. Process for 10 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl, and pulse for another 10 seconds, or until all ingredients are well incorporated but mixture is still slightly coarse and grainy. Form mixture into 16 small patties. Place on greased baking sheet and lightly mist tops of falafel with olive oil.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, flip over, and bake for another 10 minutes until falafel patties are crisp and browned.
4. Serve on a bed of lettuce or in a sandwich with some tzatziki sauce.
