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Baked Green Falafel Pita Sandwich

Baked Green Falafel Pita Sandwich | A delicious vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free meal!I was so excited when fellow food blogger and insta-friend, Ksenia from the lovely blog At The Immigrant’s Table, asked me to review her new e-book, Middle Eastern Small Plates, which was released April 15th. Not only did I get a sneak peak at the beautiful cookbook, which is full delicious vegetarian finger foods, but I was also able to pick one of the delicious recipes to share with you here! (Check the end of the post for a discount code!!) 

Being from the pacific islands, I grew up with mostly Asian and tropical inspired dishes. I am embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t made nor eaten many European, Middle Eastern, or Indian inspired foods until just recently, but now I can’t get enough! Needless to say, I loved browsing through Ksenia’s cookbook and had a hard time picking just one recipe to make!

Baked Green Falafel Pita Sandwich | A delicious vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free meal!I decided I’d make her Baked Green Falafel recipe, because although I’ve never had falafel before, it’s one of the things I’ve been wanting to try for a while now. Falafel is traditionally deep fried, but I liked that this recipe is baked, making it a much healthier option.

Baked Green Falafel Pita Sandwich | A delicious vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free meal!Ksenia says the key to good falafel is to use raw, soaked chickpeas. Just be sure to soak them for several hours (overnight is best) in which the chickpeas will absorb the water and double in size. Strain well before blending to avoid an overly wet mixture.

Baked Green Falafel Pita Sandwich | A delicious vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free meal!Baked Green Falafel Pita Sandwich | A delicious vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free meal!I made homemade pita bread (link in recipe below) which was much easier than I had expected! It was also VERY delicious, so much more than store-bought bread, but what else is new 😉

Baked Green Falafel Pita Sandwich | A delicious vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free meal!Baked Green Falafel Pita Sandwich | A delicious vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free meal!You can eat the falafel alone with some tahini drizzled on top or you can make a yummy pita bread sandwich! I obviously opted for the latter, which I am convinced is the most delicious choice!

You can fold the pita like a taco or slice in half to create a pita pocket. Either way, just stuff with the falafel, fresh veggies and don’t forget to drizzle some tahini or the creamy cucumber dill sauce I added below!

Baked Green Falafel Pita Sandwich
 
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Baked green falafel from Ksenia—At the Immigrant's Table's new e-book, Middle Eastern Small Plates. I used them to make a delicious pita pocket sandwich!
Recipe type: vegetarian, gluten free
Cuisine: middle eastern
Serves: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
  • Pita Bread Sandwiches:
  • pita bread or gluten-free flat bread wraps (I used this whole wheat recipe from As Easy As Apple Pie)
  • baked green falafel
  • lettuce or spinach leaves
  • thinly sliced tomatoes
  • thinly sliced English cucumber
  • thinly sliced red onion, optional
  • cucumber dill sauce (recipe below) or tahini to drizzle
Baked Green Falafel: (From Ksenia's Middle Eastern Small Plates e-book.)
  • 1 cup uncooked, dried chickpeas, soaked in purified water overnight and drained
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 medium onion
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small bunch cilantro, rinsed and dried
  • 1 small bunch parsley, rinsed and dried
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • pinch of ground coriander
  • pinch of black pepper
Dairy-Free Cucumber Dill Sauce:
  • ½ cup mayonnaise or plain, unsweetened coconut yogurt (vegan mayo works well!)
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro
  • ¼ cup finely shredded cucumber, liquid strained
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1-2 teaspoons honey, to taste
  • 1-2 teaspoons dried dill, to taste
  • salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Baked Green Falafel:
  1. Place drained, pre-soaked chickpeas, along with remaining ingredients, into a food processor and blend until mixture is well combined and chickpeas are finely ground. Shape into balls. Mine used about 2-3 tablespoons worth of mixture each. (Ksenia recommends refrigerating the raw falafel for two hours, but because of time I immediately baked them and they seemed to be fine. If you have the time though go ahead and refrigerate.)
  2. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place falafel onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, flatten slightly, and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Flip and bake 5-10 minutes longer, until lightly brown.
Cucumber Dill Sauce:
  1. Into a small bowl, combine mayo, cilantro, strained cucumber, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of dill. Mix until well combined. Taste and add additional honey and dill, if needed, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Refrigerate until needed. Can also be made ahead.
Pita Sandwiches:
  1. You can slice your pita in half to make a pocket or fold the pita like a taco. I made fresh pita bread, but if you're using store bought, you can warm the pita in a 350ºF oven for 5 or so minutes.
  2. Place a few lettuce leaves, 2-3 falafel balls, some cucumber, red onion, and tomato slices into each pocket and drizzle with cucumber dill sauce. Serve immediately.

ImmigrantsTable-MiddleEasternSmallPlates-ebook-coverKsenia is offering to give away a copy of her e-book to one of you! Just leave a comment below stating what your favorite way to eat falafel is! ****GIVEAWAY CLOSED**** Congrats to Leigh-Ann for winning a copy of Middle Eastern Small Plates!

She’s also offering to give 15% off to any Wifemamafoodie readers interested in purchasing her e-book! Just use the code #WIFEMAMAFOODIENLOVE at checkout. Learn more about Ksenia’s e-book by clicking here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Falafel has been on my list of foods to try for the longest time, I can’t beleive I’ve never had it before! I just know I will love it! That cucumber dill sauce looks fab too!

    I loved watching your snapchat video making the pitas, you make everything look so easy and simple to replicate!

    Reply

  2. Looks delicious! I only tasted falafel at a kebab fast food, but this recipe looks so yummy to try home. 😀 I’m in Italy, though, so not sure where to find all the ingredients. We’ll see. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  4. This looks absolutely delicious! I’ve never made homemade pita bread and yours turned out great! Definitely pinning this on my Pinterest 🙂

    Reply

  6. This looks sooooo good!! My favorite way to eat falafel is with homemade tzaziki – or with this delish tahini dressing from Jon Robbins’ Diet for a New Planet. I LOVE Middle Eastern food; nothing better than a killer mezze platter! 🙂

    Reply

  7. Your images make this look scrumptiously heavenly! I can’t wait to try this! I’ll probably eat it over a bed of greens drizzled with your dill dressing.

    Reply

  10. Mmmm I adore falafel! I’ve never used raw soaked chickpeas before in mine, so I will definitely have to give this a try the next time I get a falafel craving. I like to eat my falafel the good old fashioned way, tucked inside a soft pita with tomatoes, cucumber, and tzatziki dressing 🙂

    Reply

  11. This is mouth-watering stuff.

    I loved the photography involved. Normally, food photography is done on a white background. But the black here is adding to the contrast. Plus, no props used. Great job on the photography too.

    Reply

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