Falafel

I love me a good falafel. I don't know what about it but it is satisfying to me. For awhile after we were married I bought falafel mix and we would have it for our Sunday Lunch. Lee wasn't a fan but he was accommodating. My sister said I was crazy to spend that money on a gross mix. I guess it took me 6 years to listen to her :)
The other day after I made some Hummus from this Alton Brown recipe. In the recipe Alton has such an easy way to cook the garbanzo's I don't think I will go back to canned EVER. I got a whole crock pot full of garbanzo's for about a buck. The hummus was great but I thought I would mix it up a bit with the leftovers and try out some falafel. I scoured the Internet and made this combination of a number of recipe's. I really liked it. I do have to say the one's I over cooked were the best....extra crispy. I served it with the sauce from my Chicken Slouvaki. If you make the sauce and you can use Greek yogurt you won't be sorry :) I wrapped mine in a high fiber wheat tortilla, my family had theirs in wheat pita. Don't forget fresh tomato, crisp lettuce, and a little red onion....mmmm. My family loved it!

Falafel
15 oz cooked chickpeas (garbanzos)....either cooked from scratch or if you must canned
1 small onion chopped
1/2 cup parsley chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 whole egg, and 1 egg white
2 tsp ground cumin
1 cilantro cube (I bought these awhile ago in the Mexican section, they are like chicken bullion cubes. VERY nice to have on hand. If I have fresh cilantro I would have used about 3 TBSP instead)
1 tsp salt
pinch cayenne
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup panko
olive oil for browning
In a bowl mash chickpeas with a potato mashers. Don't throw them in the food processor or they get gummy and not as good, chunks are good. Throw onion, parsley, and garlic in the food processor or blender until smooth (if your kids hate onion they won't even know it is there :). Mix with rest of ingredients and chickpeas (go easy on the panko, I didn't use the whole cup). I formed about a dozen balls then flattened them. Put a little olive oil in the pan. Heat to medium high and brown on each side. Most falafel is fried in about an inch of oil. I think it is good with just a bit of oil and browning them. Your call though :) Assemble your wrap, pita while still warm.