Update on our vegetarian adventure…

Well, we’re not even remotely vegetarian and likely never will be, but I HAVE managed to reduce red meat meals to only one per week, plus we have incorporated 1-3 vegetarian dinners into the meal plan each week. This represents a significant improvement in the healthfulness of our diets!

Also improved is the variety in our meals. My husband is really enjoying this. He loves trying new things - the more exotic the better (franky, more exotic than he’s ever likely to get from me; I’ll never make food with tentacles, let alone eat it!). I’m a midwestern-raised girl, so my food tastes and experiences have long been quite midwesternly conventional (cow, pig, chicken). I don’t think I even tasted my first gyro until I was in college - and I never even considered ordering something as strange as falafel!

So my husband was a little surprised when he saw falafel appear on the menu plan for this week. He was also a little uncertain. He was pretty sure he wasn’t in love with falafel when he tried it in the past. But my research indicated that it is a mainstay for vegetarians and reading various recipes, considering the ingredients and how they blended - I was pretty sure I would like it.

I wasn’t so sure about the kids, though. However, they LOVE hummus, so I presented this as something “kind of like hummus, but cooked differently.” It didn’t hurt that it smelled wonderful as I was preparing it. Garlic and cilantro, cumin and coriander. Cucumber, yogurt and dill. Yum. It was so fresh and delicious - a real pleasure to prepare!

Anyway, we ALL loved it so much (hubby included) that the only problem was I didn’t make enough! I would absolutely double the recipe next time, so everyone got enough for dinner and there would be some leftovers for me and my boy the next day.

Kids in the kitchen: Have them mash the chickpeas for heaven’s sake! An older child could be entirely responsible for making the cucumber sauce. It’s very simple, but so satisfying because it is an important flavor contribution to the meal!

Also, keep in mind the teaching opportunity present when you prepare a meal from a different culture. In researching falafel recipes, I learned all kinds of things about the dish and its popularity in the Mideast. (So popular that McFalafel is on the menu at McDonalds!) I didn’t plan it at all, but having this for dinner last night was a nice segue into a discussion about other cultures and their foods.

Making it healthy: Most of the recipes I found called for frying the falafel balls (as is traditional). But it seems tragic to make something with such healthy ingredients - and then plunge it into a bath of fat! I also read many comments from newbies like me that if they didn’t get the texture of the batter just right, the falafel fell apart in the oil. I’m sure I would love these things fried, yummy yum! But I chose to bake these instead - healthy AND foolproof. If you want to make them the traditional way, disregard the baking/broiling instructions below and instead fry them in a skillet (1 inch of oil heated to 375F) until browned on both sides.

Side dish: Fresh strawberries.

Pita Falafel

Cucumber Sauce
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 cucumber - peeled and diced
1 teaspoon dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together yogurt, mayonnaise, cucumber, dill, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Healthy Falafel
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
1 onion, cut into wedges
1 handful fresh parsley
1 handful fresh cilantro
3 cloves garlic
1 egg
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash pepper
1 pinch (or more) cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup dry bread crumbs (you can also use flour)

1. In a large bowl mash the chickpeas until they are thick and pasty. Alternatively, you can (gently!) mash the beans in a blender, but take care you don’t over-mash. They should have a coarse, broken texture. If you choose this method, remove mashed chickpeas from the blender to a large bowl.

2. Add the onion, garlic, parsley and cilantro to the blender and process until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.

3. In a small bowl whisk egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Add bread crumbs or flour gradually until the mixture is holds together - firm but malleable. It should form a small ball in the bowl and not stick (too much) to your hands. Add more or less bread crumbs or flour as needed to achieve the proper texture. You can do this step in advance and refrigerate the dough until mealtime.

4. Form falafel dough into balls approximately 2 inches in diameter and gently flatten into patties. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 375F for 20 minutes. (I flipped the patties halfway through for even browning.) Next time I think I will broil them instead! To do this, brush both sides of the patties with olive oil and place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes per side until golden.

5. Stuff pitas with lettuce and falafel. Drench generously with cucumber sauce. Top with any or all of the following:

• Chopped raw peppers (red, yellow and/or green)
• Chopped or sliced onion
• Diced tomato
• Bean sprouts
• Tahini